The chief executive officer of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has underscored the significance of Trade Fair to the economic enhancement of the country, in that it brings businesses and people to market.

Almamy Fanding Taal was speaking on Thursday afternoon at the Independence Stadium in Bakau during an interview with this reporter shortly after the opening ceremony of the sixth Trade Fair.

The Fair organised by The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GGCI) was officially opened on behalf of President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh by the Trade, Integration and Employment minister, Kebba Touray. The grand opening ceremony marked the culmination of months of preparation byofficials of the GCCI and other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Trade, Integration and Employment for the successful staging of the two-week fair.

The Fair was until this year a biennial event organised to create a platform for Gambian and international companies to showcase and sell their products in the quest of creating a market for them. But from now on, according to officials, the Trade Fair will be organised every year with a view to creating market and more opportunities for businesses, more so for Gambian companies and enterprises.

In the words of CEO Taal, the Trade Fair is part of the catalytic factors that has started 2013 in a big way, noting that the platform has availed people the opportunity to get quality goods and services at "very reasonable and affordable prices." "We are expected to be at the Trade Fair for the next 14 to 15 days. We have about 250 Gambian and 45 international participants. We live in a globalised world and getting value for money and the best goods and services would be the way to get everybody competitive," Taal concluded.