Bizmen bat for non-sugar business

BUSINESSMEN who attended the 20th Visayas Business Conference and Expo have concluded that Negros Occidental has to invest in non-sugar business.

Frank Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said that businessmen in the province have discovered that there is money and a huge potential for vegetable farming.

It was also bared during the conference that Negros is still far behind Cebu in producing call center employees. At present, call centers in the province employ only about 8,000 to 10,000 workers compared to about 50,000 in Cebu.

“We still lack preparation in order to accelerate BPOs (business process outsourcing) here,” Carbon said.

The future of the sugar industry is seen to have to make major reforms and adjustments come 2015 when zero tariff will be imposed on imported sugar and other products.

During the forum, Carbon said that businessmen also realized that Negros has to have its own source of electricity in order to attract more investors to the province.

source: sunstar