Gov't website for SMEs generates 450 buyers

The government’s website for small and medium enterprises called Catalog Online (COL) attracted 456 local and foreign buyers in the first six months of the year, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem) reported Tuesday. COL allows buyers to access basic information and export products of 2,860 SMEs throughout the country. Citem, the trade promotions arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, manages the website. The website features SMEs whose products include food, gifts and holiday décor, home furnishings, industrial goods and services, information technology services, organic, herbal and natural products, and wearable industries. In 2006, 1,440 exporters were referred to 149 inquiring buyers, apart from 61 other company-, product- and service-related information inquiries under the program. The gifts, toys and houseware, furnishing and furniture, and fashion accessories sectors drew in 872 referrals. Citem said Catalog Online generated 119,306 search engine hits using Google’s new traffic report tool. COL also has an e-business twin called the Citem trade opportunities program (CTOP), a year-round market-match service where registered company-exhibitors regularly receive a listing of interested buyers by e-mail. An SME enthused about COL’s impact on its business. “Paradise Mango Rum is the first of its kind in the world. Catalog Online helps a lot in terms of promoting our product to foreign buyers interested in Filipino products especially those that are unique," said Olivia Limpe–Aw, president of Destileria Limtuaco & Co., Inc. The company has been exporting its Paradise Mango Rum beverage exported to Switzerland and China. The product has also drawn interest from Canada and the United States. -GMANews.TV