About CITEM
Dr. Edward L. Fereira, Ph.D is sworn in as the new Executive Director of CITEM by DTI Secretary Fred Pascual.
The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export trade promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), mandated in promoting the Philippines as a reliable source of quality export products and services in the global market, announced that Dr. Edward L. Fereira, Ph.D. has been recently appointed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as its Executive Director. Fereira took his oath of office before DTI Secretary Fred Pascual at the DTI Main office.
He enters the country’s trade promotions industry bringing with him three decades of experience in the fields of science, business management, marketing, diplomacy, and now government service.
In 2018, Fereira was appointed as the Special Envoy of the President of the Philippines to the Republic of Kazakhstan. He also served as the First Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Philippines from 2004 to 2011.
The new executive director was also a former President of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), the country’s biggest business and management organization composed of top business luminaries. His stint in MAP became his springboard to diplomacy as he led and chaired various private and government trade missions to different countries.
Fereira’s government career includes leadership roles at the National Development Corporation (NDC), Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE), Manila Gas, and Land Bank Realty Development Corporation (LBRDC) among others.
Fereira was conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management by the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP). He also holds an MBA degree from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Master of Science (MS) in Marketing Management Development from Syracuse University in New York. He graduated from the University of the Philippines with a bachelor's degree in microbiology.
After completing his post-graduate studies in lunar microbiology, Fereira worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), under the Apollo 11 “First Man Moon Landing” project, as the first Filipino Lunar Microbiologist who examined the moon rocks brought back by Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins.
Before Fereira’s appointment, CITEM Deputy Executive Director Ma. Lourdes D. Mediran served as the agency’s officer-in-charge (OIC).
The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is the export promotion arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
CITEM is committed to developing, nurturing, and promoting globally-competitive small and medium enterprises (SMEs), exporters, designers, and manufacturers by implementing an Integrated Approach to Export Marketing in partnership with other government and private entities.
For three decades, CITEM has established the country’s image as the premier destination for quality export products and services. It continues to set the highest standards of creativity, excellence and innovation to achieve export competitiveness in the international market.
The Civil Service Commission acknowledges CITEM's "timeless commitment, resiliency, and priceless contributions"
The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) would like to extend its gratitude to the Civil Service Commission for acknowledging the “timeless commitment, resiliency, and priceless contributions” of the agency and its employees in delivering exemplary services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rest assured that CITEM will continue to strengthen its export promotion efforts for the benefit of our dear stakeholders as we continue to champion Philippine products and services in the global market.
View the Certificate of Appreciation
CFI.co awards CITEM the Best Export Promotion Agency Southeast Asia 2022
The Tagalog word malasakit has no direct translation in English, but an approximate definition might be to “care for something (someone) as if it were one’s own.” The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) works primarily — 99 percent — with micro and small businesses across the Philippines.
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China-ASEAN Expo
September 2023
China International Import Expo
5-10 November 2023
Buy Local, Go Lokal!
Established by the DTI Philippines, “Buy Local, Go Lokal” is a national media campaign which aims to encourage Filipino consumers into shifting their buying patterns towards the consumption and purchase of local produce and goods.
#BuyLocalGoLokal
Available now at www.shopinas.com/go-lokal and Go Lokal! stores nationwide.
