Co Lung duck of Thanh Hoa Province’s Ba Thuoc District has been preserved and developed by generations of local people

Product brand management

In recent years, Thanh Hoa Province has adopted various policies to support cooperatives and local people in product branding development.

According to the agro-forestry-fisheries quality assurance division of Thanh Hoa Province, as of April 2023, the province had 62 agricultural and craft village products granted trademark certificates, including five geographical indication (GI) certificates for the province’s famous products of Hau Loc shrimp paste, Nga Son sedge, Luan Van pomelo, Thuong Xuan cinnamon, and Co Lung duck. The 62 documents also include 15 collective trademark and certification mark certificates for Do Xuyen - Ba Lang fish sauce, Phu Quang green tea, Ha Yen shrimp paste, Ai Village soy sauce, Quang Xa wine, Tu Tru steamed ramie cake, Truong Giang palm leaf conical hats, Hong Do silk, Khuc Phu fish sauce, Thang Long rice vermicelli, Lang Chanh longan-shaped candy, Sam Son dried squid, Sam Son fish sauce, Xuan Thanh oranges, and Xuan Lap rice cakes.

Additionally, the province has more than 200 agricultural, forest and fishery products granted brand certifications, a notable one of which is the sedge product from Nga Son District. Nga Son sedge has recently been granted a geographical indication certificate by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP). The certificate is managed by the Nga Son District People's Committee.

Nga Son is famous for its sedge products, which have long been developed and make an important contribution to the district's agricultural economy. Thirty percent of Vietnam’s sedge production comes from Nga Son, making the district the country’s biggest sedge production center.

Nga Son sedge has a lush green color when it is fresh, and smooth, shiny, white and durable after being harvested. Nga Son sedge mats were once among the royal court's tribute items, favored by kings and nobles. Nowadays, in addition to traditional mats, Nga Son sedge is used to produce various attractive products like baskets, trays, boxes, and travel mats that are popular with domestic and foreign consumers.

Pham Minh Ton, Director of the Viet Anh Sedge Processing and Export Company in Nga Lien Commune of Nga Son District, said that initially, the company mostly produced sedge mats for export to China, but now, it makes various products from sedge, rattan, water hyacinth and bamboo for export to Japan, the US, France, Germany, Austria, Australia, the Czech Republic, and other markets. The company has created stable employment for hundreds of workers and indirectly benefits thousands of households in the district through the purchase of raw materials.

“Perhaps that’s why when I strolled through Nga Son District, along the coastal communes of Nga Lien, Nga Thai, Nga Thuy, Nga Tien and Nga Dien, from the Can River to the Lach Sung estuary, I saw lush sedge fields. Sedge is dried all along the village roads and alleys. Women are engaged in lively conversations beside the spinning machines. Sedge has become a close companion and a source of livelihood for generations of people in Nga Son,” Ton said.

In order to maintain the brands and trademarks for the province’s agricultural products, its localities have been actively attracting investment into deep processing to increase product value.

Local authorities have disseminated information and carried out trade promotion activities to promote GI-protected fruit tree products. They have built linkages between producers and traders to form value chains, and supported organizations and individuals’ participation in e-commerce platforms to expand the market for their products.

The people in Thanh Hoa Province's Nga Son District have a tradition of making and selling mats in pairs

Affirming product value

Reality shows that selecting products for trademark protection registration is one of the crucial steps to leveraging the advantages of the protected products, helping ensure the traceability and competitiveness of agricultural products and paving the way for them to be exported.

Therefore, to develop protected trademarks in a sustainable manner, enterprises, craft villages, associations, owners of collective trademarks, and local authorities need to thoroughly exploit the economic value of these trademarks. At the same time, they should expand the distribution channels and the markets for GI-protected products. Relevant provincial departments and agencies should guide localities and units with GI-protected products to intensify trade promotion and information dissemination to expand the markets for their products in the coming time