1st BARMM Ramadan Trade Fair Opens

The new Bangsamoro government recently opened its first Ramadhan Trade Fair located inside the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM) compound here.

Rosslaini Sinarimbo, officer-in-charge of the region’s trade and industry ministry, underscored the essence of the establishment of the Trade Fair. According to her, it will not just provide an instant market for the employees inside the BARMM compound and help mothers save time in preparing for the iftar, but most importantly, it will provide job and income opportunities during Ramadhan.

Sinarimbo said they’ve provided a bigger space for this year’s fair to accommodate more visitors.

“It would be more family-friendly. We have spacious dining area and common space so visitor could bring more friends and families,” she stated.

Visitors will experience and enjoy the taste of different Bangsamoro cuisines, delicacies, and native products such as ‘sinina’, ‘randang’, ‘linggil’, ‘balebed’, ‘kumukunsi’, and many others. Trendy food snacks and refreshments are also available like milk tea, lemonade, tapioca, ice cream, mango float, and the likes. Lights and decorations are also installed in the vicinity of the compound to give a more festive ambience.

The official also noted that the Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Tourism has distributed food packs to public hospitals in the city as part of the Ramadhan celebration.

“Together with the Regional Board of Investments, as our partner, we gave food packs to Cotabato Regional Medical Center and Cotabato Sanitarium to extend help to the sick and needy,” she said.

Meanwhile, Baipadz Sinsuat, 21, a resident of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao and an exhibitor at the Ramadhan Trade Fair stated that this year’s fair is focused more on simplicity and the variety of foods.

“This year, the Trade Fair is simpler yet more individuals visit the place which in turn boosts the income of the exhibitors,” she noted.

The Ramadhan Trade Fair is not just about satisfying hungry stomachs and quenching thirst, but also feeding the soul. A nightly program or ‘Muhadara’, sponsored by the BARMM agencies, is being conducted every after Tarawih to provide trade-fair-goers Islamic teachings about Ramadhan. (Bureau of Public Information-BARMM)