“Awakening” local specialties

Endemic products are products and items that only exist in a particular geographical area, in a space with specific soil, water and climate conditions of the region. These are products with distinctive, unique and exclusive characteristics to distinguish and affirm the brand of that locality from other regions. Therefore, many localities have taken advantage of their own "heavenly gifts" to develop their brands and improve economic efficiency for producers.

Production area of ​​Gia Mieu Ngoai Trang golden sticky rice in Ha Long commune.

Quang Ngoc is a low-lying countryside, the vast sedge fields are a favorable environment for the growth and development of clams. At the same time, this "heavenly gift" has become a livelihood for hundreds of local households. According to local people, clam season usually starts from February to early October. For many generations, people have caught clams to prepare many rustic dishes. In recent years, not only serving family life, clams and clam products have also been produced in large quantities by the people of Quang Ngoc commune to sell to many customers nationwide.

Director of Quang Phuc Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative, Quang Ngoc Commune, Nguyen Viet Binh said: "God-given natural characteristics for clams to grow well, deliciously, and differently from other regions in the province, in recent years, people in the commune have not only used clams and clam sauce to serve their daily meals, but Quang Phuc clam sauce products have been known to the market not only by communication and promotion but also by their quality. The cooperative has relied on the traditional processing formula of the people and researched and found its own secrets to create clam sauce products that are well received and highly appreciated by the market and consumers."

It is known that by promoting the value of local products, Quang Phuc Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative has developed fish sauce products with a large scale and high economic value. The cooperative's revenue in 2025 is estimated at about 4 billion VND, contributing to creating jobs and increasing income for hundreds of local workers.

Another example of a unique product that has been “awakened” and become a key crop, increasing the income of local people is the yellow sticky rice in Ha Long commune. This is a famous local product that cannot be produced anywhere else. However, the rice variety has been lost for a while, seemingly unable to be restored. However, since 2008, with the efforts of the locality and a number of specialized agencies, the precious rice variety has been found again. At the same time, the production of rice varieties on a commercial scale has been organized, becoming the main crop of the locality. Vice Chairman of Ha Long Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Nhan said: "Currently, the whole commune has produced about 200 hectares of yellow sticky rice, with a total output of about 800 tons/year. In 2020, with many efforts, Gia Mieu Ngoai Trang yellow sticky rice of Ha Long Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative was ranked as a 3-star OCOP product. Thanks to that, the product is widely consumed in the market through sustainable product consumption chains. Of which, there are 2 large enterprises purchasing at the field at stable prices, namely Sao Khue Trading Joint Stock Company and Luu Suong Trading Company Limited. Thanks to that, sticky rice production is 2-4 times more economically efficient than traditional rice production."

According to statistics, Thanh Hoa province has many endemic products such as Nga Son sedge mats, Thuong Xuan cinnamon, Co Lung duck, Luan Van royal pomelo, Vinh Loc ginseng... However, most of the province's endemic products are developed on a small scale, without creating production links to consume products, so the economic efficiency is not as expected. Therefore, to "awaken" the potential, turn endemic products into key products, strengths of the locality, producers need to pay attention to processing. Focus on implementing promotional activities to let users see the value, unique characteristics of quality, care and processing stages of the products. At the same time, strengthen links with businesses to develop endemic agricultural products according to the value chain to promote the full value and quality of the products, contributing to increasing the economic value and income for producers.

Article and photos: Le Thanh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/danh-thuc-san-pham-dac-huu-cua-dia-phuong-270761.htm