The OCOP program was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 490/2018, and since then many cities and provinces have had their OCOP products.
At the MM Mega Market supermarket in the city of Thu Duc in Ho Chi Minh City, many OCOP agricultural products from the company Le Gia in the North province of Thanh Hoa, fragrant rice from the Mekong Delta province in An Giang , tea, vermicelli, anchovy sauce, Thap Muoi lotus tea, dried switch, dried grapefruit peel from different regions were displayed on the shelves for consumers to choose.
According to the director of external relations of MM Mega Market Tran Kim Nga, products that meet OCOP standards are increasingly popular, which is why the supermarket has decided to put them on sale throughout the system. In particular, during the upcoming Lunar New Year, the supermarket intends to sell unique OCOP specialties so that customers who do not return to their hometown to reunite with their family can enjoy the specialties of their hometown.
Not only in Ho Chi Minh City, many OCOP products are also popular in many provinces and cities; For example, the dragon fruit wine of Ham Duc dragon fruit cooperative in south-central Binh Thuan province is known to many domestic and foreign tourists.
Ms. Le Nguyen, director of Ham Duc Dragon Fruit cooperative, said the cooperative was established in 2016 with 17 members. At that time, the consumption of the cooperative’s products was low. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Thuan guided the cooperative to participate in the OCOP program.
In addition, the provincial Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also helps the cooperative to improve the quality of products in accordance with the regulations and make the packaging and labels more attractive.
In addition, when the product passed OCOP standard, it was showcased in many domestic and foreign trade promotion events. Since then, the cooperative can generate annual income of around VND 2 billion and products have also been exported to many countries, Ms. Le Nguyen said.
In Mekong Delta Long An Province, Moringa tea products from Vuon Nha Minh (My Garden) Company are also known to many consumers when recognized as meeting OCOP standards. Mr. Pham Ngoc Anh Tuan, director of Nha Minh Garden Company, said that before, the product was sold very slowly, but when it was recognized as OCOP, he was able to participate in many product promotion programs, moringa tea has become familiar to consumers. . Building on this success, the company decided to extend the tea cultivation areas to more than 5ha.
Through the 5-star standard of OCOP program, green tea and red tea products from Phin Ho tea processing cooperative in northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, Tai Hoan vermicelli from Tai Hoan vermicelli cooperative in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan have been introduced to consumers by many nationally reputable e-commerce sites.
According to the director of the Ho Chi Minh City Agriculture and Rural Development Department Dinh Minh Hiep, typical products of the city such as pineapple fish and Can Gio mango are added to the OCOP program.
As a large city, the city’s agricultural products are not diversified and difficult to develop in quantity like many other provinces and cities, but the largest city in the south has plans to combine the OCOP program with the development of tourism. .
OCOP products will be presented to visitors as one of the unique gifts of HCMC. It is even possible to coordinate with the city’s tourism industry and travel agencies to convert the areas of production and cultivation of OCOP specialties into tourist destinations for tourists.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Tung, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Association of Digital Agriculture, analyzed that OCOP products are not only local products, but also have regional characteristics. Therefore, if done well, it will not only help to develop the local economy in terms of production and activity, but also to develop tourism.
The trade channel is expected to help OCOP products to increase their position in the domestic market, especially as more and more imported agricultural products have been put in store in Vietnam.
According to many experts, localities with the same soil and climate should coordinate to form large production areas of high-quality products in order to reduce production costs.
