CORDILLERA TRADE FAIR. Cordillera’s best products will be on sale in the annual ‘Impakabsat’ trade fair organized by the Department of Trade and Industry-Cordillera Administrative Region at the Carousel Court Festival Mall in Muntinlupa city on November 15 to 24. Photo shows the DTI One Town One Product hub in Kalinga where Cordillera products can be bought. (PNA file photo)
BAGUIO CITY-- The Cordillera Administrative Region’s (CAR) best products will be brought to Metro Manila for a 10-day trade fair featuring the culture and tradition-based, market-driven goods at a reasonable cost.
“This year’s ‘Impakabsat’ (brotherhood) will be at the Carousel Court Festival Mall in Muntinlupa City on November 15 to 24,” said Myrna Pablo, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) CAR regional director on Wednesday.
She said DTI had been doing the trade fair in the last 23 years for the top choice products of the Cordillera to Metro Manila buyers.
Impakabsat is the intermingling between the product developers and producers from the Cordillera and the buyers from Metro Manila, other regions and even overseas.
“Excited na po tayong lahat dahil ito na yung time na reding- ready na si Cordillera to bring products not only in Baguio, CAR but also in the whole Philippines and may mga nag-e-export na rin tayo na few exporters on woven items, Sagada weaving, and other exporters of coffee on limited volume (We are excited because this is the time when we are very prepared to bring our products not only in Baguio, CAR but in the whole Philippines. We also have exporters on woven items, Sagada weaving and limited volume for coffee),” Pablo added.
“As I said, we are very happy mas magaganda po ang mga product natin ngayon (our products this time are much better),” she said.
The best of Cordillera
Pablo said there will be 80 exhibitors who are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) assisted by the DTI.
Their products that will be showcased are traditional culture-based woven items, wearables and homestyle, and small woodcraft items that use softwood.
There will also be food items most of which have undergone the Food and Drugs Administration- License to Operate (FDA-LTO) registration. The FDA license assures the buyers that the processed food they will buy and eat is safe.
Pablo said every year, they bring in new products- improved quality and packaging, which have completed the product development and prototyping in commercial quantities with the help of the DTI.
“We are expecting new sets of products kasi nagkaroon tayo (because we have) lots of product development, proto-typing for this year and whatever they sold last year and previous years, mas magaganda po yung products ngayon (this year’s products will be better), wholesale price for the buyers,” she said.
She said the 2018 “Impakabsat” raked in PHP40 million, which they hope to increase up to PHP50 million to PHP60 million this year. Most of the sales were coffee - Cordillera’s organically grown coffee, strawberry jams, fruit wines, and others.
Pablo said aside from the actual sales during the event, more important to take notice is the “book sales” or orders placed, that the producers deliver after the event.
She said there is only a limited number of exhibitors, considering the space of the venue and they impose criteria to choose only products that are eligible for the Manila market.
Pablo said the annual activity is sought by the MSME producers considering the magnitude of buyers.
“When buyers see the products, they know that it went through hard work and the product was developed in years based on culture, tradition,” she said. (PNA)
