Elevating plum jam into an OCOP product

Regretting the sight of white plums (old plums) falling all over the tree, Ms. Huynh Thi Ngoc Hanh in My Tu commune, researched and processed them into fragrant, high-value jam. Not stopping there, she continued to research to elevate plum jam to become an OCOP product that is sold throughout the city.

Ms. Huynh Thi Ngoc Hanh upgraded white plums to become OCOP products.

Ngoc Hanh Plum Jam Facility is located in Tam Soc D2 Hamlet, My Tu Commune, owned by Ms. Huynh Thi Ngoc Hanh. Previously, in My Thuan, My Tu Commune, people grew a lot of white plums. When many new plum varieties appeared on the market that were popular such as An Phuoc plum, pink peach plum, ST plum..., white plums with a strong sour taste were "out of favor". This type of plum is harvested about once every 3 months and the fruit ripens in just a couple of days, if not harvested in time, it will all fall. Unfortunately, white plums have low market value, My Thuan people grow them on a small scale so traders do not collect them; most of them just consume them themselves. When the plums are ripe, some households have to let the fruit fall all over the tree.

Feeling regretful, Ms. Hanh tried picking plums and cooking them with sugar to make jam (like coconut jam). She tried it and found the plum jam sweet, fragrant, and delicious. She gave it to her relatives and neighbors to try and received many compliments. Seeing that, in 2017, Ms. Hanh decided to set up a plum jam processing facility at home. In the first years, the products were mainly sold to local people and did not have labels, packaging, or expiration dates. In 2019, she joined the Women's Union of the hamlet and was supported by the Women's Union at a higher level to start a business, go on study tours, and participate in training. At the age of 50, Ms. Hanh still works hard to learn and research to constantly improve her products and research and promote products on social networks...

In 2022, Ms. Hanh's plum jam product was recognized by the People's Committee of Soc Trang province (old) as a 3-star OCOP product. Over time, plum jam products have become known as a brand of Soc Trang. Ms. Hanh boldly registered for an additional OCOP plum jam product and was recognized as a 3-star product in 2023. Currently, she has completed the dossier to recognize the OCOP salted lemon jam product as a 3-star product in 2025. In addition, she also has potential products such as passion fruit jam, spicy plum jam, etc.

“My plum jam is produced according to a strict process, ensuring food safety. I have a press, every 5kg of white plums will produce 1kg of plum jam, with a shelf life of 12 months; each kilo of plum jam costs over 200,000 VND” - Ms. Hanh shared about the production process. Ms. Hanh’s plum jam has recently become known to many establishments inside and outside the province and every Lunar New Year, she sells over 500kg, earning over 100 million VND.

Ms. Hanh’s plum jam facility not only provides a stable life for her family but also helps the women in the neighborhood have jobs and increase their income from selling plums. Ms. Hanh hopes that her plum jam products will become more and more known and consumed more.

Article and photos: EARLY MAI

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nang-tam-mut-man-thanh-san-pham-ocop-a188764.html