FORTY YEARS after the Negros Famine of the 1980s that sparked the launch of the Negros Trade Fair in the first place, things are sweeter for the region — and the fair.
In an event on Sept. 1 in SM Aura, where the fair will be held at the SMX Convention Center within the Taguig mall from Sept. 22 to 27, they announced that there will be 178 exhibitors, along with the cooperation of key regions. While the original Negros Trade Fair focused mainly on producers from Negros Occidental, the formation of the Negros Island Region in 2024 means that the fair now includes producers from Negros Oriental and Siquijor. “We’re growing the fair,” said Mary Ann Colmenares, chairperson of the Negros Trade Fair in an interview with BusinessWorld.
Brands that will participate in the fair include furniture, decor, and homeware labels such as Hacienda Crafts, Art Energy, ARTISANA, Noah, Madera Handicrafts, and NVC. Food products to be highlighted include those from Bob’s Cafe, 21, Chicken House, El Ideal, and Virgie’s Homemade Products.
Ms. Colmenares recalled the first fair they held, which was held in a parking lot. Other venues for the fair through the years have included SM Megamall and Rockwell. “We’re able to bring in more varied sectors,” she said about the bigger space in SM Aura. After all, there’s much more to Negros than sugar: “People are realizing that there is so much creativity here. So much resources, so many creatives,” she said.
Aside from the exhibitors listed above, there will also be fashion brands like Camille Villanueva, StyleLoft, Pinas Sadya, Reveri by Ria Bolivar, as well as Hacienda Mar, and a handful of local art galleries.
TROUBLED ISLAND
She recalled the crisis that started the whole fair 40 years ago: the Negros Famine. “The entire sugar industry was in a crisis,” she said. It’s a long story, but it involves former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and his crony, Roberto Benedicto. “It was all of a sudden a compendium of so many problems and challenges.”
“Our advocacies remain the same, so we always have to keep innovating, to stay relevant in the marketplace,” she said of the fair, which started as a way of raising funds for the starving sugar workers and their families in Negros.
The problems in the region never seem to cease: today, aside from the energy crisis and volcanic activity from Mt. Kanlaon, Ms. Colmenares described a pest — the red-striped soft-scale insect (RSSI) — that ruins the sugar crop, which is still the backbone of the region’s economy.
“We’re still here. We always think of the Negros Trade Fair as an alternative to income opportunities.”
Land is also an issue. Communist activity in contested land meant that they also needed solutions. Ms. Colmenares said that they have been cooperating with the provincial government and the Philippine Army for the Balik-Salig program, which helps develop communities through livelihood projects in former rebel areas. “They can be productive with the skills that they know,” she said of her province-mates. The program, which helps sell these products from former rebel areas, is now on its sixth year.
The fair’s theme this year is Butlak, the local term for “daybreak.” “You know that light before the sunrise? Every time you see that, they realize that God’s mercies are new every morning,” she told BusinessWorld. “There’s always something new to learn.”
Butlak is also their word for “bloom.” “While we keep blooming, we keep on continuing,” she said.
For updates, follow @thenegrostradefair on Instagram. — Joseph L. Garcia