La Trinidad businessmen optimistic on the economy

by JB Zambrano

La Trinidad, Benguet (21 August) — The effect of global financial crisis where even multi-national companies cut cost by massive lay off of workers, shorter workdays and time or even total shutdown of operations seem to have not affected much this capital town with entrepreneurs confident about the way business is going.

Valley Bread’s Eric Espadero said business is still relatively stable, although he admitted that there was a 20% decrease in their sales with consumers buying less due to cost-cutting. Their supply of raw materials also decreased, affecting production.

Despite these, Espadero said there was no retrenchment in Valley Bread. He is optimistic that with the dollar remittances going up, local consumers have more cash to buy goods.

Espadero said he believes the government is doing its part in helping the business sector, in terms of financial assistance by providing loans with affordable interest rates, and monitoring prices so that unscrupulous businessmen will not take advantage of the consumers.

Meanwhile, Alex Berad, proprietor of Saparan Livestock said they are experiencing stiffer competition these days because there are more farmer-businessmen venturing into livestock. “Farmers who bring their fresh vegetable to the lowlands haul livestock and poultry products back here,” he explained.

“We have all-weather roads now that a lot of farmers have also invested in their own trucking business. Besides, livestock business is quite easier to manage than other businesses where they have trade secrets like in the case of maintaining tasty and delicious breads by Valley Bread,” he added.

But like Espadero, Berad remains optimistic that their sales will also soon pick up. “Election period is just around the corner and because of the practice of serving “pinikpikan” during gatherings or campaigns by Benguet politicians, we will still prevail,” he added.

“We just have to look at the brighter side of things all the time. I believe our economy is on the rise and local economy will pick up fast for as long the private and government sector complement each other,” Berad said. (PIA)