PHCCIMA Highlights Agriculture At Trade Fair

The Chairman of the
organising committee of the 2014 Port Harcourt International Trade Fair, Surv. Emmanuel Ogbonda has revealed that agriculture would be given prominence at this year’s fair.
Ogbonda, a member of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines  and agriculture who spoke to The Tide on the Sidelines of the fair debunked the notion that agriculture was being down played at trade fairs.
According to him, there was no fair that agriculture has not been given attention even as he pointed out the display of poultry, fishery and other agricultural products around.
Ogbonda said a lot of agricbusiness people have been invited to participate for the fair.
The chairman who said he is also a farmer explained that there was no way he would organize a fair and exclude agriculture.
“I am also a farmer and I am into poultry and snail production.
“The man who is chairing the fair this year is a farmer, so I do not think I will do a trade fair were  agriculture will be down played’ he said.
On challenges facing the organization of the 2014 fair, Ogbonda said the political situation was bound to affect the fortunes of the fair.
“You know that the situation where we are today is a period of election, most businessmen have shifted their interest but despite that, those who are more into business will not mind the election distractions,” he said.
He also cited other trade fairs going on in places like Kano, Abia amongst others are likely to affect the Port Harcourt fair.
“All these people doing the same thing at the same time are really the challenges we have,’ he said.
Ogbonda opined that the government should not allow these duplications of events to happen even as he said.
On the perceived high prices witnessed by members of the public at fairs, he said PHCCIMA was not a price regulatory body.
He, however, charged people to report such occurrences to enable PHCCIMA draw the attention of price regulatory organizations.