(Yearender) Trade fairs earn US$ 312-M in 2009

January 19, 2010 10:50 pm 

MANILA, Jan. 19 — Sixteen Philippine trade promotion activities generated US$ 312 million in export earnings in 2009 while domestic fairs yielded P101 million in domestic sales, according to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

The 2009 international and domestic trade fairs benefited 2, 221 enterprises, mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and generated 10, 911 trade inquiries.

Trade and Industry Senior Undersecretary Thomas G. Aquino cited the accomplishments, noting that 2009 was a challenging year for Philippine exporters.

”Diversification strategies and efforts to tap the domestic market cushioned the exporters from further blow from the global recession,” Aquino said.

Most notable among the trade fairs in 2009 was the golden edition of Manila F.A.M.E. International, CITEM’s bi-annual trade fair for the home and fashion lifestyle sectors.

Manila F.A.M.E.'s April edition generated US$ 18 million and participated in by 318 exhibitors and 1, 925 local and foreign buyers. Its October fair posted $ 23M and registered 439 companies and 1, 942 buyers.

Best selling products were Christmas and other holiday decors, houseware and home decors, and furniture and furniture components. In terms of number of buyers, USA and Japan emerged as top buyers for both April and October edition.

Manila F.A.M.E.’s 50th edition also jump-started promotions of the Philippine creative industry through the first Art Manila (Philippine visual arts), FashioNation (Philippine garments and textiles), and the Health and Wellness Show in a bid to address the US$ 209 billion Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) market.

Meanwhile, e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition generated US$ 101M sales contracts and registered 1, 464 local and foreign visitors as well as global brands, which included IBM Global Services, the European Software Institute (ESI), JP Morgan Chase, Sutherland Global Services, Ericsson, AT Kearney, and Fordham University.

International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines, on the other hand, recorded US$ 57 M export sales and 2, 084 local and foreign visitors.

IFEX ’09 also became the launching pad of exporters for new niche products such as VeeGee coffee (coffee flavored energy drink), Muzcafe (instant coffee with muscovado sugar), kalamunggay tea (malunggay tea), coconut sugar and coconut nectar, mango oatmeal cookies, bottled veggies, pork and beef jerky.

IFEX ‘09 also featured Region 10, or Northern Mindanao, as its Partner Region, featuring ethnic food products and delicacies from Cagayan de Oro, Camiguin Island, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, and Misamis Occidental.

“The year 2009 was marked with exciting and challenging export promotion projects, in support of the Philippine export sector. Exporters were able to tap new markets through the locally-held international fairs and participation in major overseas international fairs,” said deputy executive director Ma. Lourdes D. Mediran, Officer-in-Charge of CITEM.

Also, the National Trade Fair, a subcontractors’ fair co-organized by CITEM with Regional Operations Development Group (RODG), generated P62M domestic sales and featured 209 exhibitors and was attended by 874 visitors.

NTF ’09 also launched the first Semi-Processed Materials Exhibit that showcased 44 semi-processed/raw materials suppliers from various provinces highlighting different indigenous materials that are abundant and distinct to each province such as abaca, capiz, clay, glass, kusot, metal, palma brava, tobacco and vines.

CITEM also co-organized the first DTI Exporters’ Expo in collaboration with Bureau of Export Trade Promotions and the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC), a retail/wholesale selling event of Philippine export products aimed at helping the exporters tap the domestic market. The five editions of DTI Exporters’ Expo in 2009 generated P24.26M in domestic sales.

CITEM also organized international participation in trade shows in key markets such as Japan, Middle East, and Europe.

To further boost the Philippine food industry in the international market, CITEM organized the participation of different food companies in Gulfood (UAE), Foodex (Japan), THAIFEX (Thailand), and ANUGA (Germany) in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Local companies were able to tap new market segments for ethnic food, healthy food, mixes, sauces and condiments, canned goods, ready-to-eat noodles, bottled sweet preserves, and natural products.

Philippine design-driven products were also promoted in the international market through participation in Interior Lifestyle Exhibition (Japan), Bijorhca Eclat de Mode (France), and the first Philippine participation in ASEAN Fashion Plus (Thailand) in cooperation with the Garments and Textiles Industry Development Office (GTIDO).

The Philippine participation in the ASEAN Fashion Plus aimed to strengthen and expand the Philippine fashion brands as well as present their franchise offers, store concepts and designs in the global market.

Participants include Best Style Manufacturing Co., Collezione C2 Retail Stores Inc., Karimadon, and Periwinkle as well as the country’s leading fashion designers- Rajo Laurel, Patrice Ramoz-Diaz, Lulu Tan-Gan, and Dita Sandico-Ong.

CITEM also assisted the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) in promoting the ICT sectors through the Gartner Outsourcing Summit (New York), Software Development Expo and Conference (SODEC) (Japan) and Cebit Australia.

To explore the market in creative e-services and to harness the creativity and innovation of the country’s film and animation companies, the Philippines participated for the first time at the Hong Kong Film and Television Market Fair or Hong Kong Filmart, in cooperation with Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc., (ACPI) and Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

The participation marked a significant inroad in positioning the Philippines as a source of creative content through the showing of internationally recognized Philippine animated films Dayo and Urduja.

The event generated US$ 10M sales and 80 trade inquiries, particularly for theatrical distribution of Philippine creative content in countries such as North America, Iran, Thailand, Taiwan, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

To tap the huge Chinese market, CITEM has organized the 6th Philippine participation in the China-ASEAN Expo with 30 exhibitors featuring new product categories in the delegation such as gifts, and novelty items/arts and crafts, fashion accessories, jewelry, food and personal care products.

The Philippine participation in the CAEXPO was in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture- Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (DAMAS), Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII), and Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) Guangzhou. DTI-CITEM also bagged two awards from the fair: Best Promotion Conference and Best Organization of Business Delegation.

CITEM’s Trade Opportunities Program, a trade referral system for foreign buyers and Philippine exporters also generated 366 trade referrals and US$ 150, 000 sales with two buyers from Sweden ordering three containers of food products every two months from the Philippines.

“In the light of pressing global economic climate, the country’s exporters were able to further position themselves as a reliable source of quality products and services. Optimism and a strong and creative entrepreneurial spirit helped the Filipino entrepreneur in successfully cruising the valley of recession in search of new opportunities,” Aquino said. (PNA) RMA/bac/utb

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