Requirements on quality and traceability of export markets can slow down the progress of goods clearance at border gates. Photo: Nguyen Thanh

Need to have a consumption plan for each fruit

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Cultivation Bureau estimated the output of key fruit products such as dragon fruit, banana, mango, jackfruit, grapefruit, orange, pineapple, durian, longan, rambutan, tangerine, custard apple in the Mekong Delta region will reach more than 4.1 million tons in 2022 and more than 1 million tons in the first quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, the production and consumption of fruits in the Mekong Delta in late 2022 and early 2023 is forecast to face difficulties. Specifically, Mr. Tung said that the quality and traceability requirements of export markets, especially the Chinese market, could slow down the export progress, causing congestion at the border, and affecting the consumption of goods in the country.

In addition, the delay in granting the planting area code for durian exports to the Chinese market would make it difficult to consume the current durian crop in the Mekong Delta. In addition, the high cost of production inputs, fertilizers and pesticides would affect fruit tree production and might affect the yield and quality of fruit.

Mr. Tung also noted that flooding and saline intrusion might affect the production of some fruit tree areas without a closed double dike; the rapid increase in durian production areas in some areas with unsuitable ecological conditions could lead to post-planting damage.

Therefore, units and localities need to strengthen the system of dikes and embankments to prevent floods and saltwater intrusion. Simultaneously, the scattered planting of fruits with large output such as dragon fruit, mango, longan, rambutan, durian should be flexible and in accordance with the actual situation.

According to Mr. Tung, localities need to control the expansion of durian tree areas, and avoid expanding the area in unsuitable soil and ecological conditions. At the same time, it was necessary to control the output and quality of fruit trees, and step up the assessment of the granting of codes for fruit-growing areas, especially the granting of area codes for durian trees.

Mr. Tung also emphasized the development of a plan to consume fruit products specifically for each product. At the same time, promote the connection of fruit purchasing enterprises as well as continue to promote fruit preservation and processing in order to improve added value and competitiveness of the commodity.

Many OCOP products have difficulties in the commercial stage

Regarding the OCOP program, Mr. Dang Quy Nhan, Deputy Head of OCOP Department, the Central New Rural Coordination Office, said that the OCOP program had aroused the potential and strengths of localities, gradually transformed from a small scale to a closed value chain, with the main role being cooperatives and enterprises.

Currently, 393 effective chains have been formed and more than 145 products have been effectively exploited in the local raw material areas.

Besides the achieved results, Mr. Nhan assessed that the OCOP program still had many difficulties. Specifically, the number of products increased rapidly but not sustainably, not focusing on products with advantages; lack of initiative, not focused on standardizing product quality, market capacity, support solutions, organization and management. In addition, trade promotion activities were fragmented and inconsistent.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Le Viet Binh, Deputy Chief of the Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the South, said that currently there was a situation that the number of OCOP products had increased massively.

Localities had not focused on advantageous and specific products, so the quality and effectiveness of the OCOP program were not high. In particular, the development of OCOP products was still fragmentary, with no link among products in the same locality and localities in the same region. In many localities, after successfully building the OCOP product brand, it was only at the level of displaying and introducing products, while commercial ability was still limit ed.

A representative of An Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also said that although there was still a lot of room for development, local entities and production facilities were facing many difficulties in accessing distribution channels. Notably, despite having many outstanding agricultural products, production facilities in An Giang were still hesitant, and even refuse to participate in the OCOP program because there was no guarantee or certainty in product consumption.

Accordingly, the representative of An Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed the Central New Rural Coordination Office to support the Mekong Delta provinces to build a display centre for OCOP products of the Mekong Delta, then coordinate these products to the place of demand with major partners.

From there, facilities and subjects would have specific production plans according to the demand of enterprises, avoiding the imbalance of product structure compared to actual needs.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung also admitted that the problem of connecting agricultural products is currently very difficult. Therefore, it was necessary to call on enterprises and retail systems to join in, and promote trade, thereby raising income for people.

At the forum, representatives of the local Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development also suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Central New Rural Coordination Office should soon complete the set of criteria for evaluating OCOP products for localities to conduct OCOP product evaluation accurately and effectively.