Expect more national 5-star OCOP products

With many strict criteria, including the fact that the product must be exported stably to foreign markets to become a national 5-star OCOP product. Up to this point, Thanh Hoa only has 1 national OCOP product, which is Le Gia shrimp paste from Hoang Hoa district. However, recently, many products with good quality, basically meeting the conditions to be selected as 5-star OCOP products, are opening up new hope for localities and production entities to improve their products, build brands, and expand markets.

Expect more national 5-star OCOP products The bronze drum product cast by traditional manual method of Thieu Trung commune (Thieu Hoa) is being oriented to be developed into a national 5-star OCOP product. Photo: Le Dong

At the end of 2022, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province sent a document requesting the Central Government and relevant ministries and branches to consider recognizing 3 more national OCOP products. These are all handicraft products from traditional sedge plants of Nga Son district, including: Nga Son sedge vase, Nga Son sedge plate and Nga Son sedge basket. The subject producing these products is Viet Anh Export Sedge Production and Processing Joint Stock Company in Nga An commune. Here, right from the entrance gate and the concrete yard around the factory, taking advantage of the sunny weather, workers have dried thousands of handicraft products. At the factory, there are always about 40 workers in charge of weaving, drying, labeling and packing products waiting for the day to export.

With 3 products selected by the Provincial Office of the New Rural Development Program to propose for consideration as 5-star OCOP products, all are quite sophisticated products, although hand-woven, they still create intricate and beautiful patterns. Introducing to us, Mr. Pham Minh Ton, Director of the company shared: The main raw material for producing handicrafts here is sedge - a traditional agricultural product of Nga Son district. Currently, 4 large enterprises in the United States have distributed to bring handicraft products from Nga Son district to customers at a system of 64 supermarkets across the country.

According to Mr. Ton, the United States is the most demanding market in the world , so products must meet dozens of standards, including natural origin, no toxic chemicals, and the working environment of workers is also periodically inspected by experts from the US. To meet the increasingly high tastes of consumers in the US, the company constantly changes the designs and patterns of the products. In particular, the 3 products that the province is proposing to select as national 5-star OCOP products are also the main products, which the company has maintained continuous production for many years.

Not only that, the organization of production has created thousands of jobs at home for rural workers in Nga Son district. "Workers weaving these products can save time and still do household chores, even working in the evening. Currently, the average income of workers producing handicrafts for our company is 4 to 8 million VND - depending on working time and actual efficiency" - Mr. Pham Minh Ton shared. The company's production and business activities also help Nga Son district develop chain production models as required by the National Target Program on New Rural Development. Sedge growers in the district have stable jobs and incomes, and preliminary processing and purchasing activities also bring benefits to small traders. Next, the production, transportation and export stages of products are all carried out continuously, creating sustainable livelihoods for many people.

Commenting on the possibility of meeting national OCOP product standards, Mr. Bui Cong Anh, Deputy Chief of the Office of the Provincial New Rural Development Program Coordination, the person in charge of developing the OCOP Program, said: “According to the criteria of the national 5-star OCOP product, 3 handicraft products from sedge of Nga Son district have many opportunities. These are good quality products, exported to high-end markets such as the United States, Europe and some Middle Eastern countries. Not only are the designs beautiful and environmentally friendly, but the production also creates jobs for thousands of local people, which is a factor in ensuring social security. Sedge is also a traditional crop of Nga Son land, crystallized by the intelligence and creativity of the people, carrying the local cultural identity”. According to Mr. Bui Cong Anh, after consulting with central ministries and branches, these 3 sedge products of Nga Son district meet the set criteria quite well, currently only lacking the criterion of not having intellectual property rights and trademarks for the products, so they have not been considered this time. However, the procedures to wait for the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam to grant protection rights have been implemented and are in the waiting period for results. These 3 products are expected to be proposed for consideration as national OCOP products in the next round.

Expect more national 5-star OCOP products The handicraft product "Nga Son sedge plate" meets all the conditions and is regularly exported to the US market. It is currently waiting for intellectual property protection to be considered a national 5-star OCOP product.

Another product that the Office of the New Rural Development Program and Thieu Hoa district are orienting to develop into a 5-star OCOP product is the bronze drum cast by hand in the Dong Tea craft village, Thieu Trung commune (Thieu Hoa). According to the assessment of the departments and branches that are members of the OCOP product evaluation and ranking council of Thanh Hoa province, the traditional bronze drum product of Thieu Trung commune has many opportunities to become a national OCOP product. The most prominent factor must be considered in the cultural element of the product, followed by the quality and many other criteria that are also assessed to meet the requirements. Currently, Thieu Trung commune is promoting the introduction of products on e-commerce platforms, initially exporting products to the United States, China and some Southeast Asian countries.

“It is not easy for a product to achieve the 5-star OCOP standard. Each central ministry and branch is assigned to evaluate a small criterion in the product very strictly. There has only been one review round in the past few years, most recently in May 2023. After being reviewed through the rounds, the whole country had 85 products that qualified for the final round, but only 19 products were recognized as national OCOP products. And up to now, the whole country only has 39 national OCOP products; dozens of provinces and cities across the country do not have any products yet" - Mr. Bui Cong Anh added. Despite the difficulties, recently, the Provincial New Rural Development Program Coordination Office has continued to orient to add some bamboo products of Ha Trung, Quan Hoa, Lang Chanh, Quan Son districts... to the list of 5-star OCOP products. The product's indicators and criteria are being gradually completed according to the general selection standards.

Article and photos: Le Dong

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