First, Negros; next, the world

Beaming behind a shelf full of a variety of nuts, Shiena Ana Poblete cheerily greets customers perusing her products.

The 31-year-old Negrense is enjoying a spot at the 31st Negros Trade Fair in Glorietta Mall in Makati City, a dream come true for one who used to peddle her wares only on Bacolod’s streets.

“I’ve been selling nuts since I was a kid,” says Poblete, who has been part of the annual trade fair and a member of its organizer, the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), for two years now.

“My earnings have grown by 100 percent. [From selling on the street], I now own a booth in a mall in Bacolod,” adds the mother of two, who now runs her peanut business with her husband.

Poblete’s is one of over 100 small and medium enterprises being showcased at the Negros Trade Fair, which runs until Sept. 18.

The annual event aims to give Manileños a taste of everything Negros—from food to fashion to home decor and even art.

The trade fair, which began in the 1980s as a bazaar with only 15 sellers, has grown because of ANP’s two key traits: high-quality products and the members’ keen sense of innovation, says Elsie Gonzaga, ANP vice president for sales and marketing.

“In ANP, we really screen our products, especially if they’re new. You should have quality products. If you aren’t sure about your product, then don’t [attempt to sell]. We see if it’s worth the price they’re trying to sell it for,” says Gonzaga.

“And our members—whether they’ve been with us since the beginning, just a few years, or joined just recently—are encouraged to come up with new products,” she adds.

Another factor which contributes to ANP and the Negros Trade Fair’s success is the “resilient” Negrense spirit, says Mike Claparols, a Manila-based ANP member and proprietor of Creative Definitions, a company which creates export-quality, Philippine-made home decor.

The ANP was formed in the 1980s to aid displaced sugar-industry workers, after the government, under then President Ferdinand Marcos, took control of the sugar trade and crippled the province’s economy.

Since then, the ANP has continued its objective of promoting small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs in Negros to other markets all over the country, as well as abroad.

“Like the sugar cane crop, we are a resilient people,” declares Claparols.

As in previous years, popular Negrense food items and brands—such as piaya and barquillos from Sugarlandia; pastries by Felicia’s Pastry and Retail Shop; chicken inasal by Inasal sa Dalan—dominate the trade fair.

For the health-conscious, organic items, both food and nonfood, are also being offered by retailers such as Fresh Start Organics (try the coffee) and Twenty Six Herb Garden and Store.

Proprietors of both companies—couple Ramon and Francine Uy, and Dr. Anabel Salacata, respectively—are Bacolod-based organic farmers.

Then there are the artisanal products, such as soaps by Karissma, owned by Susan Flores.

Her soap variants include carrot, cucumber, radish, oatmeal, charcoal, avocado, turmeric, banana and guava. Flores, who started making her soaps at home, is a first-timer at the Negros Trade Fair.

“What we’re really selling is Negros,” says Gonzaga, “Our theme this year is ‘Biodiversity in Tourism.’ [Negros] used to be a mono-crop producer—just sugar cane. Now we offer so much more. [Through the trade fair], we hope to be able to serve our Manila customers and encourage more of Negros producers to continue to innovate.”