The 37th Negros Trade Fair (NTF) in Makati City that ended Sunday was a resounding success, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday, October 2.
The total sales during the six-day trade fair was P47,645,369.34 or P8.6 million above last year’s NTF sales, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
Total actual sales at the 2022 NTF was P33.5 million plus booked sales for a total of P39 million, he said. This year the P47.6M was all in actual sales, Diaz said.
The non-food products’ sales hit P29.7 million and food – P17.9 million this year, he added.
“I congratulate the Association of Negros Producers, especially all those who exhibited their products at the 37th Negros Trade Fair,” Lacson said.
“The challenge now is to continue to be innovative. We will have to come up with even better products for the trade fair next year,” he added.
The purpose of the trade fair is to help introduce small and medium entrepreneurs to the market, Lacson said.
There were 108 booths with 80 exhibitors at this year’s trade fair, but there were more producers because the provincial government carried about 80 micro producers and local government units also carried the producers from their towns, NTF vice chairperson MaryAnn Feria Colmenares said.
Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines is arranging for the Bureau of Customs to inspect Negros export products at the Bacolod Silay Airport instead of at the Cebu and Manila airports, Lacson said.
PAL officials informed him of this move that will make the shipment of Negros export products to other countries seamless, Lacson said.
Lacson said he invited the PAL officials to the NTF in Makati and introduced them to the Association of Negros Producers’ officers.
The ANP members, especially those who export, are happy with this move, he said.*