ILOILO CITY (PIA) – Over 100 local exhibitors are set to join this year’s “Artesanias de Iloilo” trade fair organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Iloilo from September 23 to 29, 2024 at Robinson’s Place Iloilo.
This agency, in a press conference on September 11, 2024, said that the trade fair will serve as a venue for local exhibitors to showcase their artistry and innovations through the different local products they produce.
DTI-Iloilo director Ma. Dinda Tamayo stressed the importance of giving local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the venue to showcase their creativity, citing that the business sectors have become partners in boosting the economy, in creating jobs, and in generating income for everybody.
The event, according to Tamayo, will also feature products produced from the DIT’s Shared Service Facility (SSF), including those from the DTI-Iloilo’s allocation of P265,000 to purchase machinery for transforming coconut husks into charcoal briquettes in Tubungan, Iloilo.
Other products expected to be showcased during the fair include bamboo, cacao, coffee, wearable made from “Hablon” fabric, high-value crop products, and processed food.
“This event is a provincial fair and we proudly promote Ilonggo-made products. All the products showcased are from Iloilo and made by Ilonggo entrepreneurs,” Shayne G. Jornadal, Trade Industry Development Specialist and Unit Head of the Industry Development Division at DTI-Iloilo said.
DTI-Iloilo said that they target to generate up to P3.8 million sales, including book orders and under negotiations during this year’s fair, which is higher than the P3.5 million sales they achieved in 2023.
The fair, set for seven days, will give highlight to six cluster industries in the province, with bamboo-made products taking center stage on the day after the fair’s formal opening; coconut for the third day; processed food for the fourth; crafts and textile for the fifth; cacao for the sixth day; and coffee during its last day. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
