By Angeline Valencia
Bohol Sunday Post
In another food expo, the Bohol Poverty Reduction and Management Office (BPRMO) negotiated for an export market for ginger products of local entrepreneurs.
Aside from the potential Canada export market, BPRMO Head Antonieto Pernia also found a new export opportunity for ginger products from Bohol during the recent International Food Expo at Mall of Asia in Manila on May 16-18.
Bohol Processed Foods (ProFoods) president Arnold Labunog, owner of Jojie's Bakeshop here, led the delegation of Boholano producers to the IFEX.
According to Pernia, it was at the international food festival that Bohol products had the first exposure in an international expo to get the attention of international traders, where the Bohol-based La Tienda's mango-oats cookies was cited as one of the products with good packaging.
Affirming the prevailing market for ginger that Pernia observed during his trade mission to Canada on April 19-May 3 in an effort to facilitate penetration of Bohol products to the North American market, international traders attending the IFEX also searched for ginger-supplying provinces among the participants. And, they saw the potentials of Bohol.
On this, the BPRMO head assured ginger farmers that the market for their produce is wide that those from Candabong, a barangay in Loboc which has been known for ginger cultivation, might even have to buy stock from other farmers in the barangays when they could close a deal with those foreign traders at the IFEX.
Pernia encouraged other farmers to also engage in ginger cultivation like the Candabong farmers, considering the huge market abroad.
He said he had talked with a Japanese trade consul who had expressed interest on the ginger products displayed in the booth of Candabaong at the IFEX and other products from Bohol. He even invited the local entrepreneurs to penetrate Japan, saying their goods have a potential market in their country.
Pernia also said he learned from the Japanese trade consul that Japan's minimum order is 500 six-cubic-foot boxes of ginger.
The consul even offered a lucrative proposal on the terms of payment where they will pay in advance for the stock upon taking the order.
This way, Pernia said, the small-time entrepreneurs can maximize the advance payment to catch up with bulk order and meet the demand.
At the IFEX, Pernia said he observed that the booth of barangay Candabong, municipality of Loboc had the most number of visitors who were foreign traders.
The foreign visitors were attracted to the showcase of ginger products in the booth, Pernia said.
The BPRMO head also claimed that among the participating provinces, Bohol attracted most of the visitors, for it was only then that they learned about the exotic products from the province, aside from the beaches that it had been known for.
From the IFEX, Pernia said he could now conclude that, indeed, ginger has the highest demand nowadays even with the many other products in the array.
He said he even met at IFEX, those buyers that he met in Canada including those who were from China, West Coast in United States, and Japan.
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