CEBU CITY — The Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas (DTI-7) is targeting to generate P40 million in sales during the five-day 2019 Sandugo Trade EXPO in Tagbilaran City in Bohol, an official said Friday.

Trade Department Regional Director Asteria Caberte said their target is higher this year as more balikbayans are expected to arrive for the 2019 Sandugo Festival with the opening of the new Bohol-Panglao International Airport.

The 2019 Sandugo Trade EXPO will run from July 24-28 at the Island City Mall in Tagbilaran City.

“This year’s activity is dubbed ‘Beyond Expectations @ 32’ because our target last year was PHP32 million. Now, we are aiming for PHP40 million as we are anticipating a bigger influx of balikbayans with the opening of the Panglao airport,” Caberte said in a press conference at the DTI-7 office here.

She said this year’s regional marketing event will feature export-quality products such as furniture and home furnishings, gifts and decors, wearables and homestyle, fashion accessories, and processed food from Central Visayas and neighboring regions.

“We have new improved products which I’m sure will be attractive to our balikbayans and foreign visitors alike,” Caberte said.

Among the products expected to become a bestseller is the bamboo wristwatch, which is a favorite among Korean tourists, she said.

Caberte said the Sandugo Trade Expo, which started as a provincial fair some 14 years back, has been growing every year with the participation of more exhibitors from other regions in the country.

An estimated 200 exhibitors from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao will be joining this year’s trade event, which will also showcase the good quality products of those under the DTI’s One Town One Product (OTOP) and Kapatid Mentor Micro Enterprise (Kapatid Mentor ME) programs.

Chocolate or “tablea” makers in Bohol and wearables and homestyle manufacturers will be featured in a special setting at the trade Fair.

Other activities lined up for the event include coffee cupping, graduation of Kapatid Mentor ME participants, and recognition and awarding ceremonies for trade fair partners and best performing exhibitors and products.

The trade expo, which is also aimed to promote Bohol as a tourist destination, is an annual undertaking of DTI-7 every July in time for the province’s Sandugo Festival celebration, commemorating the blood compact (sandugo) between Datu Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565. (Luel Galarpe/PNA)