The 6th Annual Berbice Expo & Trade Fair which commenced at the Canje Welfare Centre Ground two Fridays ago under the theme: “Promoting Economic Diversity” ended the following Monday with mixed reactions from exhibitors.
The event, hosted by the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC), was held for the first time at that venue. In the past, it was kept at Guysuco’s Albion Centre Ground which has now been reserved for cricket.
While some said the expo was “good” and that they got positive responses for their products, other felt that the venue did not do justice in terms of marketing.
When Stabroek News spoke to some of the exhibitors on Monday afternoon they were disappointed that the venue did not attract a large crowd as compared to when it was hosted at Albion.
One exhibitor even commented that the expo was “boring and I just punishing to get sales.” With the expo having just a few hours to wrap up she was hoping “to make the money to pay for the booth.”
She suggested that the authorities host the next expo at the New Amsterdam Stelling and said “transportation would still flow freely.”
Some patrons who said they loved the booths on display and got “some good bargains,” felt that the event could be held at a school.
The expo was opened amid heavy showers and patrons had to plod the soggy ground as they viewed the various booths. Despite creating makeshift walkways with sand and pallets, the rain still seemed to have hindered the turnout.
A number of businesses participated including, A. Ally & Sons General Store of New Amsterdam; Cristal World – Genuine Semi-Precious Stones from Lethem, Rupununi; Bollywood Fashions of Paramaribo, Suriname; Digicel; the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Co. (GT&T); Cell Phone Shack; RD Fashions; Doreen’s Home Décor and S. Bacchus Antique Arts & Craft.
The chamber also received support from a number of agencies including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Guyana Rice Development Board, Nand Persaud and Company limited, NPG Packaging GT&T, Banks DIH, Digicel and Republic Bank.
The owners of SD Fashions which showcased costume jewellery and Indian and Islamic items, told this newspaper that “at Albion we had more crowd and better support. People used to go there and wait for you to open…” They said too that some of their products got wet and damaged from a leaking roof.
Lawerence Chung of Cristal World who has participated in the Berbice Expo since 2005, opined that the “chamber needs to do a lot more if it wants to keep the Berbice Expo alive.”
He felt that “the general atmosphere was one of disappointment.”
According to him the chamber “knows that the event takes place at this time of the year and this is the rainy season. There is a tendency to blame the rain but to be honest, the ground is not appropriate; I don’t know if it [the venue] is a lack of options.”
Besides, he said the chamber needs to find a better venue as the Canje location was “stagnant and smelly.”
Contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the CCCC, Adrian Anamayah acknowledged that despite having positive responses from exhibitors and a good display of the booths, “the weather spoilt some aspects.”
He pointed out that the venue was no doubt a problem and said that it did not drain enough.
Anamayah said members were grateful for the help of the Region Six administration which provided the sand and sawdust to fill the ground and Guysuco for providing the machinery to level it.
He said too that the chamber is focusing on acquiring enough funds to establish a permanent exhibition site in Berbice and already has some areas in mind.
He said that would be a major project and that they would lobby the government for assistance. They also hope to construct an office to carry on the affairs of the chamber.
According to him, it was too early to assess the amount of money they have made but he felt that they have suffered some losses. He was pleased though that people braved the weather to turn out for the event and was thankful for the support.
