NEGRENSE products will again take the global stage as two entrepreneurs from the province will participate in the upcoming international fair in Frankfurt, Germany.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its attached agencies Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), has chosen Mary Ann Colmenares of Artisana Island Crafts and Doreen Alicia Gamboa-Peña of Silay Export Inc. as among the country’s delegates to the Ambiente Frankfurt International Consumer Goods Fair in Germany on February 9 to 13, 2018.
This was confirmed to SunStar Bacolod Tuesday, January 16, by Mae Buaron, senior trade and industry development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental.
Buaron said the two will be part of the only 10 entrepreneurs from the Philippines rigidly selected by EMB and Citem through consultations.
“Once chosen to participate in this international fair, it means that the quality of their products meets the international standards and they have the capacity to really negotiate and get buyers,” she added.
Ambiente is considered as one of the biggest gatherings of producers in the world.
Aside from gathering participating enterprises and consumers in Germany, it is also being attended by retailers from different countries looking for potential product sources.
Thus, this is really a good exposure platform for local entrepreneurs like Colmenares and Peña, who are both into gifts, décor and houseware (GDH) sector, to promote their products and capture bigger markets, Buaron said.
She said the DTI will take charge of their participation fee while the participants’ counterpart are plane fare, accommodation, and freight expenses.
Buaron added that through the fair, the producers can “benchmark,” particularly check if their products are still “in” for the export market or if there is a need to be improved.
“We hope that they will be able to help generate more local jobs by boosting their export capacity,” she said.
Rachel Nufable, chief industry trade and development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental, said they continue to encourage other micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to also be active and aggressive in pushing their products to international expositions and fairs.
Nufable said the province hosts many other MSMEs that use indigenous materials so what they need maybe is more encouragement to develop their products in terms of quality and volume to capture a bigger market.
“The market there is very huge so they are not just competing with the Asian countries,” she said.