MANILA — Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have generated about PHP400 million in sales and orders from trade shows initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the agency’s top official said Wednesday.
During the opening of the 2018 Sikat Pinoy National Trade Fair in Mandaluyong City, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said MSMEs participating in the trade exhibition had on-site retail sales of PHP200 million while booked and negotiated orders stood at PHP200 million from 2013 to 2017.
The Sikat Pinoy expo has also attracted almost half a million local and foreign buyers. Commercial attachés are also bringing into the Philippines potential foreign buyers of local products, mostly indigenous products across the country, during the trade show.
These numbers grew from only 52,000 visitors of Sikat Pinoy in its two trade shows in 2013. Sales then stood at PHP25.8 million while booked and negotiated orders reached PHP65 million.
“This National Trade Fair is one of the many market access programs of the DTI,” Lopez said in Filipino, noting that market access is among the common challenges faced by MSMEs.
He said his agency has rolled out government-sponsored trade fairs and stores nationwide, in which MSMEs get the retail spaces for free or for a minimal fee. These include the Sikat Pinoy trade fairs, OTOP Philippines Hub, and Go! Lokal.
The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), DTI’s export promotion arm, also helps MSMEs to market their products abroad.
He added that the Design Center of the Philippines has been assisting MSMEs to improve the aesthetics of local products and help them innovate.
“What we need to emphasize here is the continuing innovation. Our products here have leveled up. We no longer see woven materials, but they are now applied to new products,” the trade chief noted.
“So many discoveries of upgraded designs, and that’s the challenge. As for Filipino entrepreneurs, that’s the secret — you just have to continuously innovate, or you evaporate,” Lopez said. “It is in value adding that you can really charge a premium.”
Meanwhile, DTI Undersecretary Nora Terrado said more than 200 MSMEs nationwide are participating in the 2018 Sikat Pinoy National Trade Fair at the Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall on August 22-26.
The trade fair features gifts, wearables, furniture, specialty food, health and wellness products, as well as green, organic, eco-friendly fair trade compliant, and halal-certified products.
“This is the best time to scout gift items as we welcome the upcoming Christmas holidays,” Terrado said.
“The Sikat Pinoy National Trade Fair brings together the best products all over the country and showcases the hidden gems of the Philippines,” she added. (Kris Crismundo/PNA)
