Vietnam has verified, rated, and recognised a total of 3,200 products as “One Commune, One Product (OCOP)” goods this year, 800 higher than planned, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Cellophane noodle is the first four-star OCOP product of Bac Kan
to be exported to Czech Republic.

The national OCOP council is reviewing 43 products for five-star ratings, the ministry said.

Nguyen Minh Tien, head of the Central Coordination Office for New-style Rural Building, said the OCOP programme has resulted in numerous positive outcomes, as the development of key local-level products has set the scene for the creation of more employment opportunities and improvements in income.

OCOP products are made from a combination of local resources, traditional culture, and advanced technology, which facilitates the development of diverse products with better quality and packaging, and the ability to trace product origin, Tien added.

The programme has provided farmers with the chance to come together to form cooperatives, which now account for 38 percent of 1,400 OCOP producers nationwide. The establishment of these cooperatives has allowed farmers to create products with better quality, design, and packaging as well as higher standards, and made products more relevant to market demand, he said.

He also identified disadvantaged provinces, such as Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, and Ben Tre, as where the programme is being implemented most effectively. Though these provinces are not blessed with favourable conditions and have small-scale production, they have developed some distinctive and high-quality products, according to him.

Major supermarket chains like Big C and Vinmart are considering setting up zones exclusively for the sale of OCOP products.