LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government wants to formalize the relationship with the Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA) for a continuous trade relations that will help in bringing the province’s vegetable produce to the different cities and provinces in Mindanao for increased market.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda said the initial conduct of the MINDA fruit festival in the municipality last Sunday was successful and part of the back load of the vehicles and the people that brought the fruits to the town were tons of highland vegetables which will also be sold in the different parts of Mindanao.
“We hope to formalize an agreement with MINDA officials for the continuous exchange of our vegetables and the fruits from Mindanao so that we can provide our people with much cheaper prices of our respective produce,” Mayor Salda stressed.
Among the highland vegetables brought to Mindanao by those who actively participated in the town’s MINDA fruit festival included potatoes, cabbages, beans and carrots.
The municipal mayor claimed that organizers of the MINDA fruit festival who initially conducted the said event in Baguio city several weeks ago also brought with them locally produced vegetables bought from local traders to be sold in the cities and provinces in Mindanao which is greatly advantageous in providing added markets for highland vegetables.
Benguet, parts of Mountain Province and Ifugao produce at least 85 percent of the supply of highland vegetables being sold in the different parts of the country.
Salda claimed some 19 tons of assorted fruits from Mindanao such as pomelo, durian, among others, were sold to the residents right at the heart of the municipality last Sunday, and in return, the organizers brought with them some 12 tons of assorted vegetables which will be distributed to the different traders in cities and provinces in Mindanao.
According to him, the forging of an agreement with MINA for the continuous exchange of our agricultural products will greatly boost the market for the province’s vegetable produce considering the need for concerned government agencies and local governments to expand the provision of vegetable supply to different markets around the country.
La Trinidad hosts the vegetable trading post and the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC) that serves as the two primary trading areas for vegetable farmers to sell their produce to traders from the different parts of the lowlands who frequent the municipality to get their supply of assorted agricultural crops they well in different markets around the country.
Salda said the municipal government already signified its intention with the MINDA for the crafting of an agreement that will make the trading of agricultural crops sustainable in the coming years.
By HENT
