Craft villages are bustling with activity, preparing for Tet.

Even before the festive atmosphere of Tet (Lunar New Year) arrives in the city streets, preparations for goods and food are already in full swing in the traditional craft villages.

The kitchens are always ablaze with fire.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, cooperatives and craft villages in Thai Nguyen province are increasingly actively boosting production of goods for consumers, especially those with high demand during the Tet holiday, with the criteria of ensuring quality, diverse product designs, and stable prices.

In the final days of the year, the traditional sticky rice cake (Banh Chung) making village of Bo Dau (Co Lung commune, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province) is bustling with preparations for Tet (Lunar New Year). Each household is mobilizing an additional 3-5 workers to keep up with production schedules. According to Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong, a resident of the village, each bundle of wild dong leaves, after being imported from Bac Kan province, is thoroughly washed and dried.

The secret to the famously delicious Banh Chung (Vietnamese sticky rice cake) from Bo Dau lies in the carefully selected ingredients, the tightly wrapped cakes, and the slow cooking process. Photo: Pham Hieu.

Other ingredients are also carefully selected. The glutinous rice grains must be uniform, plump, and free of impurities, grown in the Phu Luong and Dinh Hoa regions. The mung beans must be of the highest quality. The roasted peppercorns are finely ground and mixed with just the right amount of seasoning. The pork filling must meet the criteria of being fresh and delicious. To preserve tradition and ensure food safety, the sticky rice cakes are tied with bamboo strings instead of plastic ones.

"The secret to the famously delicious Banh Chung (Vietnamese sticky rice cake) of Bo Dau lies in the carefully selected ingredients, the tightly wrapped cakes, and the slow cooking process. Another special feature is the well water in the Bo Dau area, which is very suitable for boiling the Banh Chung, giving them a beautiful green color," Ms. Huong shared.

Leveraging the strengths of the traditional craft village, since 2021, the Bo Dau Traditional Sticky Rice Cake Cooperative has been established with 8 members, specializing in producing specialty sticky rice cakes that have received OCOP 3-star certification. This Lunar New Year, Ms. Nguyen Bich Lien, Director of the Bo Dau Traditional Sticky Rice Cake Cooperative, has received orders for approximately 20,000 sticky rice cakes from customers.

"Despite the large quantity, the cooperative members always remind each other to ensure quality and not increase prices compared to normal days," Ms. Lien affirmed.

Similar to the traditional rice cake-making village of Bờ Đậu, the Việt Cường vermicelli cooperative (Hóa Thượng town, Đồng Hỷ district) is also bustling with activity to meet the demands of the Tet market. The cooperative's approximately 300m² workshop is almost completely filled with bundles of vermicelli. The cutting, weight checking, packaging, and labeling departments are all working non-stop.

Viet Cuong Vermicelli Cooperative is ramping up production to meet market demand for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday in 2024. Photo: Pham Hieu.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Ba, Director of Viet Cuong Vermicelli Cooperative, to ensure production capacity, the cooperative has invested in an additional centrifugal flour filter and other equipment worth nearly 1 billion VND. The cooperative also proactively stockpiled raw materials about two months before Tet (Lunar New Year) and mobilized dozens of seasonal workers, working even in the evenings. Regarding packaging, the cooperative has also made several improvements to ensure aesthetics and better suit customer preferences.

“Besides traditional sales channels, this year, Viet Cuong Vermicelli Cooperative has expanded its product promotion and marketing through social media and e-commerce platforms. As a result, the number of orders has increased by about 20-25%. Specifically for the upcoming Lunar New Year, the cooperative expects to supply hundreds of tons of vermicelli to the market,” Mr. Ba informed.

Diverse distribution channels

With the aim of building long-term reputation, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative (Tan Cuong commune, Thai Nguyen city) has determined that products for the upcoming Lunar New Year must be aesthetically pleasing, of guaranteed quality, and priced appropriately. Besides increasing production, the cooperative is also flexible in its sales methods and caters to the specific needs of different customer groups regarding packaging design and product packaging specifications for gifts and presents.

“Along with traditional customer groups, keeping pace with the digital transformation trend and boosting product promotion on social media platforms has helped cooperatives and craft villages in the province secure many new orders,” analyzed Ms. Dao Thanh Hao, Director of Hao Dat Tea Cooperative, adding that accelerating production to meet market demand during Tet will help units increase revenue and provide workers with additional income.

Hao Dat Tea Cooperative has determined that products for the upcoming Lunar New Year must be aesthetically pleasing, of guaranteed quality, and priced appropriately. Photo: Pham Hieu.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Thai Nguyen province, the retail distribution system in the province currently includes 140 markets, dozens of supermarkets and shopping centers, and thousands of food stores. To ensure the supply of goods for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday in 2024, the Department of Industry and Trade, along with other departments, agencies, the People's Committees of districts and cities, and businesses in the province, have coordinated to implement various solutions to ensure a balance between supply and demand and stabilize the market during the Tet holiday.

In recent times, manufacturing and trading enterprises have actively participated in market stabilization activities, organized trade promotion activities, actively responded to the "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods" campaign, and organized mobile sales events specializing in Vietnamese goods in rural areas and remote regions.

In addition, businesses, agencies, and retail stores have made good preparations for essential goods and Tet holiday supplies to ensure early and sufficient provision for people in rural, mountainous, and remote areas, with guaranteed quality and reasonable prices.

Before, during, and after the Lunar New Year, the Department of Industry and Trade of Thai Nguyen province planned to coordinate with relevant units to strengthen food safety inspections of businesses and establishments producing and trading food in the area. At the same time, they intensified control over smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and goods infringing intellectual property rights.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/cac-lang-nghe-do-lua-hoi-ha-chuan-bi-hang-tet-d374375.html