Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Lacson lauded the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), the organizer of the Negros Trade Fair (NTF), for the highly successful staging of the 37th edition of the country’s longest-running provincial trade fair in Makati City.

“I would say it was a resounding success. We have surpassed the sales compared to last year. We have breached the PHP40-million mark. They’re just awaiting the final sales as of yesterday (Sunday),” he told reporters on Monday.

In 2022, the ANP, which ran for six days, reported some PHP39 million in total sales.

This year’s NTF, which featured some 108 booths selling Negrense-made food products, crafts, fashion, and homestyle items at the Glorietta Activity Center, drew support from First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Senators Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Imee Marcos and Loren Legarda, and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who visited the event on various occasions.

“The challenge now is to continue to be innovative. We will have to come up with even better products for next year’s Negros Trade Fair,” Lacson said.

Aside from the seasoned producers who have been part of the NTF since it started, the event also featured products of the MSMEs assisted by the province’s Technology and Livelihood Development Center and those produced by communities in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, which were once conflict or insurgency-affected communities.

“Triumph of the NTF is a testament to the joint efforts of Negrenses aimed at showcasing the world that Negros Occidental and Negrense products indeed belong to global standards,” Lacson said in his message during the trade fair’s opening rites. (PNA)