Mandaue cooperatives showcase products in mall exhibit

COOP EXHIBITS/OCT 22,2015: Victor Comerus, Mandaue City Cooperative Development officer (right) shows Parck Mall general manager Neil Co the coops products displayed on their mall for free. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

NINE cooperatives under the Mandaue City Cooperative Development Office (MCCDO) are showcasing their products in their first joint mall exhibit and bazaar in a bid to attract a larger local customer base.

The exhibit, from October 19 to 25 at Parkmall Cebu,  is supported by the Mandaue City Cooperative Development Council (MCCDC) and the Mandaue city  government.

“With the exhibit, we are able to showcase also our cooperative entrepreneurs who manufacture ‘unique’ and ‘world-class’ products,” Victor Comeros, institutional development officer of MCCDC, said in a press conference yesterday.

The participating cooperatives are Tabok Allied Workers Cooperative (TAWO); Mandaue Subcon; Cebu People´s Empowered Youth Laboratory Coop (Ceylabco); Basic Means and Concerns Credit Coop; Paknaanon Multi-Purpose Cooperation (Pamulco); Dedon Employees Coop (DEMCO); Subaspa; XML Employees Coop (XEMCO); and San Roque Paris Multi-Purpose Coop.

Neal Carlson Co, general manager of Parkmall Cebu, said they provided the exhibit area for free to the cooperatives.

Co also said they were in talks with MCCDC for the establishment of a permanent area for the cooperatives on the second floor of the mall.

“We will always support our local entrepreneurs. Parkmall plays a role in exposing the goods. Anything that will improve the lives of the people here in Mandaue, we´re all for it,” he said.

Heidi Fuentes of the Mandaue Subcon Cooperative said the cooperatives will not only be able to get more local buyers but also develop the quality of their products and increase their capability.

“Our customers are usually the members of the cooperatives,” she said. The exhibit will provide the cooperatives exposure to more clients.

Comeros, for his part, said the council’s primary task is to support the business endeavors of the cooperatives and  “enterprising the household.”

The exhibit is in line with the Mandaue city government´s vision to become a well-known manufacturing hub and source of high-quality, world-class local and export products by 2020.