This event is credited as a “playground” for Vietnamese OCOP producers and businesses to introduce their products and connect trade representatives, international buyers, and both local and foreign distributors, aiming to bring many Vietnamese OCOP products to the world.
Obstacles confronting OCOP producers
OCOP is a rural economic development program, launched in 2018 to enhance the production of local products. The program utilizes internal resources, such as wisdom, creativity, human resources, raw materials and local culture, increasing product value and employment, and raising rural incomes. It prioritizes agricultural and non-agricultural products and services from each locality, engaging cooperatives, producers, and households.
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Bui Thuy Van introduces her company’s products at VIETNAM OCOPEX. |
After five years of implementation, the OCOP program has been well deployed in localities across the country with tens of thousands of products produced. According to the statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam currently boasts over 14,000 OCOP products and more than 7,000 OCOP producers. Many OCOP products bearing cultural and traditional characteristics have met high-quality standards and both domestic and global consumers’ demand, helping affirm the values of Vietnamese agricultural products and make positive changes in localities across the country, contributing to implementing the National Target Program on building new rural areas for the period from 2021-2025.
To support the consumption of OCOP products, ministries, agencies, and local authorities have organized numerous promotion activities, conferences, and seminars to strengthen supply-demand links and promote the sale of OCOP products, key local products, and regional specialties. However, challenges persist in OCOP product distribution, such as limited processed goods and small-scale production. Notably, many OCOP producers believe that marketing is one of the primary reasons why their products have not yet reached consumers, even within Vietnam.
As a business owner with a product exported to the U.K. market, Bui Thuy Van, Deputy Director of Nhung Van Turmeric Starch Co., Ltd. From Hoa Binh province, said that weak marketing is one of the problems that OCOP producers are facing now. According to her, no matter how good a product may be, it still struggles to reach consumers if the marketing is weak. The fact shows that although the demand for OCOP products is huge, most of them have not yet reached distributors and consumers, both domestically and internationally.
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Tran Manh Tung, head of a business from Ninh Binh, at the event |
Clarifying the difficulties faced by OCOP producers in Binh Thuan, Nguyen Minh Son, Deputy Head of the Office of Cooperatives under the Rural Development Sub-Department of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, noted that apart from packaging, labeling standards, and brand-building, promotion remains a major hurdle. As a result, although the quality of OCOP products is high, producers still struggle to reach distribution channels and consumers.
“Express train” to bring Vietnamese OCOP products to global market
To promote the export of goods and support Vietnamese businesses to directly export key products and OCOP products, the Trade Promotion Agency, in collaboration with the Central Coordination Office for New Rural Development, organized the Vietnam OCOP Export Product Exhibition.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, VIETNAM OCOPEX features 250 booths showcasing OCOP products rated from 3 to 5 stars from over 230 businesses, categorized by region and product type. The first-ever event offers an opportunity for OCOP producers to connect with local and foreign distributors, foreign trade promotion agencies in Vietnam, and international buyers, meet export-import experts, and learn more about the requirements of the strict markets, thus studying the possibility for exporting to help Vietnamese OCOP products be widely promoted to global supply chains.
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Delegates learning about OCOP products at the opening day |
According to Nguyen Minh Son from Binh Thuan, apart from allowing OCOP producers to seek distributors, this expo also gives them an opportunity to learn from other businesses and requirements of distributors, thus helping them come up with measures to improve the quality and complete essential procedures to soon bring their products to customers.
Bui Thuy Van noted that VIETNAM OCOPEX allows companies like hers to connect with international distributors and explore export opportunities. Meanwhile, Tran Manh Tung, owner of Nhu Quynh Scorched Rice in Ninh Binh, explained that given the short shelf life of his product, he targets domestic and international tourists through exhibitions like VIETNAM OCOPEX.
Speaking at the opening of the expo, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance Cao Xuan Thu Van said that one of the primary concerns of OCOP producers is selling their products. She emphasized that VIETNAM OCOPEX serves as one of the solutions to this challenge. It creates opportunities for cooperatives to promote and introduce their products. The Chairwoman of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance expressed her hope that OCOP products will not only be popular in Vietnam, but also widely be introduced in international markets.
At the opening event, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan emphasized that the expo should not only target international markets, but also focus on domestic sales, because once Vietnamese customers trust in OCOP products, the potential to export them will be higher. According to the minister, the “EX” in “OCOPEX” stands for "expo," but it can also mean "express." He expected that VIETNAM OCOPEX would bring Vietnamese agricultural products on an express train to customers worldwide.
Translated by Tran Hoai