PARTICIPATING producers at the ongoing 35th Negros Trade Fair (NTF) have generated initial sales of about P630,000 during the first two days of the annual event.
Arlene Infante, president of the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), said they noted brisk sales for products sold online through shopnegrostradefair.com.
Infante said the remaining P10,000 accounts for the sales they generated through onsite selling at the newly inaugurated ANP Hub’s showroom along South Capitol Road in Bacolod City.
The amount is on top of the sales generated by farmers at the Bugana Market, which is also part of the hub.
“The online retail sales are coming from our Manila market,” she said, adding that “it’s not our first time, as individual producers, to try e-commerce but the model works and the NTF branding played a pivotal part.”
After a year of hiatus due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the country’s longest-running provincial trade fair that showcases the best of Negros has made a comeback this year.
The annual event is organized by ANP in collaboration with the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental and various government agencies.
Themed “Embracing the QR Code,” this year’s edition of NTF will last from May 30 to June 30, 2021.
Thirty-five micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are participating in the month-long event.
Infante said they hope to make the onsite and e-commerce as permanent NTF platforms every year.
She recalled that in 2018, the five-day hosting of the 33rd Negros Trade Fair at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City has generated a total sales of P31 million.
In 2019, with a smaller space at the same venue, participating producers also generated millions worth of sales during the five-day event.
“This is the first NTF that we have both onsite and online selling so we cannot yet set a sales target for this year,” Infante said, as she urged Negrenses to continue supporting local products.
“Visit the ANP Hub and be proud of our artistry and products,” the ANP official appealed.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, in a video message during the opening rites, said the annual trade fair is a celebration of the culture and tradition of Negros Occidental
Romulo-Puyat said the NTF is one of her favorite yearly events and she always looks forward to checking out the local craftsmanship, home accessories, organic products and the delicious Negrense cuisines.
“The country’s longest-running provincial trade fair which was always held in Metro Manila will now be able to reach more people in the country through an e-commerce platform,” she said, adding that MSMEs from the island of Negros will have access to a wider customer base and even the opportunity to connect with the international market.
For her part, Negros Occidental MSME Development Council chair Mary Ann Colmenares thanked the provincial government for its support to the local producers.
The provincial government provided the lot and funded P5 million for the construction of the ANP Hub that also houses the business and training center, showroom, office, and the Bugana Market.
“Everybody can come together in this hub which can be used as center for convergence of people who want to grow their businesses representing the best of what we make,” she said.
Colmenares added that with the hosting of this year’s NTF, “we have to look at the opportunity in the challenges because going online means we are open to the whole world.”