(VOVWORLD) - Since it was launched 6 years ago, the national One Commune One Product (OCOP) program has encouraged Vietnamese people to buy Vietnamese goods and has boosted local economies. OCOP products have improved their design and packaging and have been widely consumed in the domestic market.
 Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh provincial People's Committee Nghiem Xuan Cuong (C) participates in a livestream session while visiting the “OCOP Fair of the Northeast region – Quang Ninh 2024”. (Photo: Truong Giang/VOV) |
The annual “OCOP Fair of the Northeast region – Quang Ninh” introduces agricultural, seafood, and other OCOP products.
A fair goer named Mai Chi told VOV that OCOP products meet her family's needs, adding, “I often go to the OCOP fair. Products are becoming more diverse and their quality and design are improving.”
Le The Trung of Hanoi said supermarkets often offer promotions, and areas selling OCOP products – vegetables, fruits, food, and essential goods, with clear origins that can be checked by scanning a QR code.
“My family used to buy imported goods ranging from foods to tech items. Now I buy OCOP products, especially essential goods, because of their reasonable prices, improved quality, and clear origin. I feel confident buying them,” said Trung.
OCOP products are now available in most supermarket chains and convenience stores. The Mang Den Forest Cooperative in Kontum province has built up the Mang Den Forest brand as a local OCOP specialty.
Each year it produces 100 tons of Arabica coffee, sold as five product lines of processed coffee. Each of its 3- or 4-star OCOP items is much sought after in the domestic market, said Le Nhat Tien, the Cooperative’s Deputy Director.
According to Tien, the OCOP program guides his cooperative’s production process, from field to market. “The final product must be of high quality. We are expanding our raw material area by signing contracts with households to secure their output.”
 OCOP products are sold at a Mang Den village fair in Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province. (Photo: qdnd.vn) |
In the past 6 years, brand building for high-quality farm produce has paved the way for the establishment of production chains and sustainable local rural economies.
Producers who participate in the OCOP program enjoy incentives from local authorities including favorable land policies to help them establish raw material areas, and assistance in designing product labels that are appropriate to the market.
Le Thuy Kim Loan, Director General of the Pyloherb Joint Stock Company in Kon Tum province, which has 15 OCOP medicinal herb products, said, “OCOP is a certificate for typical products of a region. Compliance with OCOP criteria will help distinguish our products from others. The OCOP stamp issued by the province guarantees that a product is a typical product.”
According to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuyen, Director of the Institute of Economics and Management of the Central Highlands, once a product is certified as OCOP, it can successfully build a brand and become familiar to consumers.
But businesses must change their production and sales mindset to keep up with new technology, said Tuyen.
“The star rating of an OCOP product is just a passport, not a brand. A brand is built on the trust of customers. Once you have gotten the passport, you need to ensure high quality to promote your brand. Then the product will grow. You also need to take advantage of new technology to stay competitive,” Tuyen explained.
The OCOP program has unleashed the potential of local products and realigned the agricultural sector with small-scale industry and rural tourism. Consumers' trust in Vietnamese OCOP products is a big reason “make-in-Vietnam” products are gaining a foothold in the domestic market.