Regional products to be showcased at fair

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

The Third Regional and Traditional Products Fair will highlight the brand value of a myriad of Turkish products from 81 different regions in Turkey, the Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said yesterday. “We have more than 3,000 regional products. These aren’t only food products either. They include handicrafts, industrial products, textiles, carpets and wood carving,” said Hisarcıklıoğlu.

“On the one hand we want to introduce our products and on the other hand we want to ensure that these products receive brand recognition and are marketable,” he said.

Last year 80 participants took part in the fair. This year the number of participants reached 150, said Hisarcıklıoğlu. There were 32,500 visitors to the fair last year and this year they expect 100,000 local and foreign visitors. Visitors who land at the Antalya Airport will be shuttled to the fair. Some 25 percent of the fair participants are comprised of women, said Hisarcıklıoğlu.

TOBB board member and Antalya Chamber of Trade and Industry President Çetin Osman Budak said he wanted a special incentive scheme to promote Turkey’s regional products. Forum Fuarcılık General Manager Bilgin Aygül said they wanted to introduce Turkey’s geographically labeled products to international markets.

The Third Regional and Traditional Products Fair will be held from June 20 and 24 at the Antalya Expo Center.