TRADE FAIR. Buyers visit the Bahandi Trade Fair at Robinsons Place Tacloban in this Sept. 18, 2021 photo. The first face-to-face Eastern Visayas regional trade fair held this pandemic has surpassed its sales target, benefitting 41 micro small and medium enterprises in the region, the Department of Trade and Industry reported on Wednesday (Sept. 22). (Photo courtesy of DTI Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY - The first face-to-face Eastern Visayas regional trade fair held this pandemic has surpassed its sales target, benefitting 41 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported on Wednesday.
The Bahandi Food and Fashion Fair from Sept. 16 to 19 at the Robinson Place here has generated PHP1.73 million sales, exceeding the PHP1.5 million projected sales, DTI Eastern Visayas regional director Celerina Bato said.
One of the major factors is the location of the venue near the local government’s vaccination site inside the mall.
“There were 1,000 individuals who were vaccinated each day. After their vaccination, people tend to drop by the trade fair,” Bato told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Some of the new products featured in the sales event include marinated milkfish and kueking – an embutido (Filipino style meatloaf) roll made of shrimp, crab, and fish.
More seafood products were available than in the previous fairs.
To further boost sales, there was also a live online selling event on the second day through the DTI Region 8 Facebook page.
“Promotion through Facebook resulted to more people visiting the trade fair. National government agencies have invited buyers, such as owners of restaurants and stores to check the local products,” Bato added.
The official said this year’s Bahandi trade fair also paves way for assisted former rebels in Samar to “promote their products, improve on it and increase their capacity to do business as means of livelihood and support a sustainable change in their lives.”
The DTI is upbeat that in the succeeding fairs this year, more local entrepreneurs assisted by its various programs will participate in marketing events, especially those who launched their business during the pandemic.
The DTI will hold the Bahandi trade fair every month until December, giving all government-assisted MSMEs the chance to showcase their products inside the mall.
Holding four trade fairs will help ensure compliance with minimum public health standards, Bato said.
Bahandi, the local term for wealth, is a regular trade fair organized by the DTI in malls based in the National Capital Region and Tacloban City.
The last face-to-face Bahandi trade fair was in 2019 at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. (PNA)
