CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Department of Trade and Industry in Region 3 (DTI-3) will continue to hold trade fairs to support the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Central Luzon amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
DTI-3 officer-in-charge director Leonila Baluyut on Tuesday said their office and seven provincial offices of DTI will conduct and participate in at least 19 trade fairs, including the 23rd run of the Likha ng Central Luzon Trade Fair, in an effort to help MSMEs generate sales and provide income and employment in the countryside.
Among these trade exhibits are four national and international trade fairs which include the National Trade Fair Digital Mall, the Manila FAME, the Virtual National Trade Fair, and the 13th run of the International Food Exhibition (IFEX)–NXTFOODASIA.
Those trade fairs are organized by the DTI’s Bureau of Domestic Trade and Promotion (BDTP) and the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, in cooperation with the DTI Regional Operations Group.
Baluyut said the DTI also continues to hold some trade fairs online and possibly physically to ensure the MSMEs continue to earn and sustain their operations and produce quality products.
She added that despite the quarantine restrictions and pandemic threats, MSMEs in Central Luzon that participated in trade fairs in 2020 generated significant sales and even expanded their markets.
In 2020, Baluyut said the DTI-3 assisted 1,364 Central Luzon MSMEs participate in 98 local, national and international trade fairs that generated more than 70 million total sales.
To prepare MSMEs in the new normal course of transacting, Baluyut said the DTI is capacitating MSMEs to do e-commerce through training and linking them to popular online selling platforms.
She said the agency is also training Central Luzon MSMEs on how to maximize use of technology and online platforms not only to advertise and sell their products, but also learn the mechanics of online payments.
This is to help in ensuring virtually contactless transactions to follow health protocols, she added. (PNA)
