DTI Camarines highlights 163 small enterprises in trade fair

INQUIRER.net FILES

NAGA CITY — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte collaborated to showcase their locally produced food products in Feria de Camarines (fair of Camarines), which attracted 163 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME).

Seventy eight booths showcased their food products at the five-day trade fair held at Robinsons Naga in this city from April 10 to 14.

Now on its third year, Feria de Camarines has 141 local entrepreneurs from Camarines Sur and 22 from Camarines Norte joining it.

Products featured in the trade fair include dried pineapples, coconut chips, taro chips, and kinalas noodle soup among other Bicolano specialty delicacies.

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In his message during the opening of the trade fair, DTI Bicol chief Dindo Nabol encouraged local government units (LGU) to adapt the OTOP (One Town, One Product) Law into an ordinance to finance the funding of the promotion of OTOP in their areas.

“We encourage our Local Government Units to adapt the OTOP law, and localize it through an ordinance,” Nabol said.

DTI Bicol pioneered the movement to make a sample ordinance that was sent and distributed to the provinces, which the LGUs can easily adapt, make improvements on, and change depending on the situation of their localities.

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“It is up to them to adapt it … or they could change some of their provisions that are applicable in their localities,” Nabol said in an interview with the Inquirer.

This will benefit MSMEs in terms of development and marketing the products, noting that MSMEs are part of the OTOP of LGUs.

Provincial offices sponsored booths at this fair to assist local entrepreneurs.