VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur (PIA) — Food processors and producers from the member municipalities of the Magnificent Magic 7 (MM7), collectively sold products totaling ₱168,024 during the MM7 Tourism and Trade Fair held from July 11 to 17, 2024, at Paseo de Bantay, Bantay, Ilocos Sur.
The event was organized by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) in collaboration with the provincial government of Ilocos Sur, and the local government units (LGU) of Alilem, Cervantes, Quirino, Santa Cruz, Sugon, Suyo, and Santa Lucia – the seven members of the MM7.
Various local delicacies such as ube (purple yam) jam, peanut butter, and a variety of wines (ube, tapey, guyabano, duhat, and camote) were on display and available for purchase at the fair.
Additionally, a wide range of products including ginger tea, turmeric tea, veggie noodles, ube flour and powder, sugarcane vinegar, rice varieties (black, red, and glutinous), tuna empanadas, peanut products, labtang (twiner vine) handicrafts, longganisa, chicken nuggets, specialty coffee, fresh fruits like rambutan and avocado, and various vegetables were also popular choices among visitors at the exhibition.
The event aimed at featuring tourism sites and market products from MM7 municipalities, establishing long-term markets and partnerships for MM7 products, and presenting MM7 as a platform for collaboration in Southern Ilocos Sur and Metro Vigan.
This was the third edition of the annual MM7 Tourism and Trade Fair.
The first fair was held on April 11-21, 2022 at Santa Cruz Public Market in Santa Cruz town, and its second edition took place on June 26-28, 2023 at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City.
The municipality of Suyo recorded the highest sales, totaling ₱43,090, while Sugpon followed with sales of ₱32,530, and Cervantes town sold local products worth ₱25,152, as confirmed by the NAPC.
Alma Estepa, manager of the Pasalubong Store in Suyo town and a member of the Suyo Micro Entrepreneurs Association, Inc., mentioned that the best-selling items during the fair were raw products like avocado, rambutan, and ginger, as well as processed products such as sweet potato and mushroom seeds, and their popular banana chips.
“The MM7 fair, along with other annual trade fairs organized by the provincial government, LGU Suyo, and Candon, has been very beneficial to us. These initiatives allow us to showcase and introduce our products to other places, helping us reach more customers and sell more products,” Estepa said in a phone patch interview on Monday.
Their organization was established in February 2023, and LGU Suyo provided them with sufficient funds for capital, as well as a building to sell their products in the municipality.
However, Estepa mentioned that their building requires some repairs and rehabilitation, so a portion of the sales they made from the fair will be used for that purpose.
As a food processor herself, she expressed her utmost gratitude to the government for its unwavering support of local products and its assistance in their development and marketing.
She said, “We truly appreciate the unending opportunities that the government initiates to enhance our products and services.” (MJTAB/JMCQ, PIA Ilocos Sur)
