Solving output problem to develop OCOP products

Not yet dominating the market

Although the product is good and suitable for consumers' tastes, the snowflake cakes of the Van Long business household (3-star OCOP) (Binh Trinh Dong commune, Tan Tru district, Long An province) are still mainly consumed in the provincial market, through wholesalers and regular customers. On average, this business household supplies the market with about 10-15 tons of products/year.

According to the owner of the Van Long business household - Duong Thi Anh Tho, "Our products are of good quality, but because we cannot proactively control the market, we can only produce seasonally and when there are orders."

Products of Van Long business household (Binh Trinh Dong commune, Tan Tru district) are mainly consumed within the province

Similarly, beef jerky products of 8 Ben beef jerky production facility (OCOP 3 stars) (Hoa Hiep 2 hamlet, Hiep Hoa commune, Duc Hoa district) cannot seize the market, mainly made to order and delivered to familiar customers in small quantities.

The owner of Tam Ben beef jerky production facility - Ho Van Ben said: “Currently, we are facing the output problem as raw materials, labor, equipment, etc are all available but the consumption of the product is quite slow. Almost only during the Tet season does the facility have orders. Therefore, we really hopes to be supported in connecting consumption, ensuring stable output.”

With available manpower, raw materials, and equipment, the Tam Ben Beef Jerky Production Facility (Hoa Hiep 2 Hamlet, Hiep Hoa Commune, Duc Hoa District) is only short of orders (Photo: Workers at the 8 Ben Beef Jerky Production Facility dry seasoned meat on a drying rack)

Established in 2022 with the goal of bringing local lotus products to markets inside and outside the province, currently the Hai Nhon Lotus Agricultural Service Cooperative (Nhon Hoa Commune, Tan Thanh District) is still struggling to find outlets for its products. Director of Hai Nhon Lotus Agricultural Service Cooperative - Ngo Thi My Dung informed: “Previously, local people mainly grew lotus for seed-pod and sold them to traders in Dong Thap province, so it was quite unstable. Therefore, we established the cooperative to help people consume lotus.

Currently, the cooperative has 15 members, grows 30 hectares of lotus, has 2 products: lotus powder and lotus heart tea, which are recognized as 3-star OCOP product. The cooperative is making efforts to promote and connect to find outlets for local lotus products.”

At Muoi Hai Safe Vegetable Cooperative (Long Khe commune, Can Duoc district), green mustard products (4-star OCOP) often fall into difficult situations. Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Muoi Hai Safe Vegetable Cooperative - Le Van Giay shared: “Currently, the cooperative has 30 hectares of vegetables, providing the market with an average of 1-2 tons of safe vegetables and 400-500kg of organic vegetables every day.

Regarding OCOP products, many customers still do not know what OCOP certification is and why OCOP vegetable products are more expensive than similar products, making them difficult to sell.”

The difficulty of the Muoi Hai Safe Vegetable Cooperative (Long Khe Commune, Can Duoc District) is that consumers do not clearly understand the quality of OCOP products (Photo: Workers of the Muoi Hai Safe Vegetable Cooperative process green mustard - a 4-star OCOP product)

In general, product development and finding outlets for OCOP products in the province still face many difficulties. In particular, the majority of production and business households registered to participate in the OCOP Program have small and retail production capacity, limited management skills and knowledge, and are difficult to adapt to the market mechanism.

Many entities have not applied science and technology to the production process, mainly semi-manual and manual production. Along with that, there has been no planning to build raw material areas to ensure proactive service for commodity production; there is no creativity to create new OCOP products, many products are highly similar, and packaging and designs lack creativity, not attractive to customers. Therefore, many OCOP products of the province have difficulty entering large markets or have found a consumer market but are still struggling to affirm their position, quality and competitiveness with similar products.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, up to now, the whole province has 247 OCOP products, of which 51 products have achieved 4-star rating and 196 products have achieved 3-star rating, focusing on industry groups such as food, beverages, herbs, handicrafts, etc.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment - Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh, to build and develop an OCOP product, the producers need to meet a number of conditions such as continuous production, high economic value, contributing to increasing income for people and having regional characteristics. Therefore, to build OCOP products, localities must rely on actual conditions, identify key products and have appropriate production area planning.

The need to promote products consumption

Director of Long Chau Agricultural Products Import-Export Processing Company (Tam Vu town, Chau Thanh district) - Nguyen Ngoc Phan said that in the past, dragon fruit was mainly exported fresh to the Chinese market, but prices often fluctuated. Facing this situation, he started producing dried dragon fruit for export and offered it to a number of markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, France, etc. and received positive feedback. Currently, the company has connected to growing areas with Duong Xuan Cooperative (Duong Xuan Hoi commune, Chau Thanh district) and has 2 products, dried dragon fruit and dried papaya, that have achieved 3-star OCOP certification.

“The company has been making efforts to improve the product model and processing process to meet the standards set by the import market. During this process, we really need the support and guidance of functional sectors in standardizing the production process and connecting product consumption,” Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Phan shared.

Workers of Long Chau Agricultural Products Import-Export Processing Company Limited (Tam Vu Town, Chau Thanh District) pack dried dragon fruit

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, to support OCOP entities, the department coordinates with relevant departments, branches, and units to organize and participate in many promotional conferences so that the province's OCOP products have more opportunities to connect and exchange with potential partners.

In addition, entities are also supported to improve product quality, innovate design and packaging, build product labels, etc, thereby helping them find reputable product consumption units in the domestic market. Currently, many OCOP products of the province have been introduced to the market through many different channels such as retail, online stores, supermarkets, etc., bringing in good revenue.

Along with that, the departments, branches, and localities of the province have integrated and considered funding sources to support entities investing in machinery, technology, innovating packaging designs, registering quality standards, etc. to develop highly competitive OCOP products.

Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade - Chau Thi Le said that along with efforts to find export markets, the province has also implemented many solutions to develop the domestic market, promote the circulation of goods, enhance the connectivity between production and the market according to the supply chain, such as providing information on the supply of goods, especially agricultural products of the province to the Ministry of Industry and Trade; coordinating with trade counselors in many countries to connect consumption for agricultural products; introducing Long An enterprises to participate in stabilizing the market in major provinces and cities in the country.

On the other hand, OCOP producers also need to proactively standardize and improve product quality, actively put their products on websites and e-commerce platforms to promote and connect consumption.

“In the coming time, the Department of Industry and Trade will continue to coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Environment and related departments and branches to strongly implement the OCOP Program, especially connecting to find output for products to increase added value, improve production and business efficiency for OCOP producers” - Ms. Chau Thi Le added./.

By Minh Tue - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/giai-bai-toan-dau-ra-chia-khoa-de-ocop-vuon-xa-a193424.html