Essequibo Agro and Trade fair likely to be annual event – Dileep Singh
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BATlH9D90pA?autoplay=1″ width=”100%” height=”315″]
[fruitful_sep]DPI, GUYANA, Monday, April 23, 2018
The second Essequibo Agro and Trade Expo which was successfully hosted over the weekend at the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground is likely to become an annual event. This is according to Chairman of the Essequibo Chamber and Commerce (ECC), Dileep Singh.
Singh told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that this year’s event saw more booths and patrons supporting the Expo.
“It was large; we had almost double the number of booths and exhibitors. The crowd was probably ten times and the response from the various first-time exhibitors such ExxonMobil and United States Immigration and others we didn’t know would be here; it was great. The cooperation we’ve gotten from all the ministries especially, Business and Agriculture, was appreciated. Even from the farmers; we like to see our framers come out and support us,” Singh explained.
Due to the tremendous support from the various entities and patrons, the agro and trade fair will unquestionably be an annual one, Singh pointed out. He said the unswerving support has motivated himself and the team at ECC to ensure the commencement of works for next year’s event.
Singh underscored that the agricultural fair will spur development of the region.
“It’s something new and I think this will move the region to a different level in terms of economic, commerce, value-added, creating jobs for young people and attracting investors…So we at the Chamber of Commerce have started our assessment and to see where we have defaulted and areas for improvement to better next year and hopefully we’ll have more participation even from international organisations,” Singh underlined.
The ECC Chairman described the region as no longer being “a Cinderella” and advised residents to move away from that perception in order to hasten regional progress.
“We cannot take advantage of the fact that we’re a Cinderella county for the rest of our lives, we have to move away from that and be positive. We are hospitable people; our crime rate is low and so we should focus on developing our tourist potential so that when persons retire they can consider Essequibo.”
The two-day Expo was hosted by ECC under the theme “Essequibo means business” and saw over 80 booths occupied by predominantly local businesses, exhibiting products and services.
By: Ranetta La Fleur