Son La develops agricultural raw material areas that meet export standards

Forming large-scale raw material areas

Son La is a mountainous province with diverse natural conditions, fertile land, and a temperate climate, favorable for the development of fruit trees and forestry. However, for many years, the province's agricultural production has remained small-scale, spontaneous, unconnected, and without uniform standards. The project "Piloting the construction of standard agricultural and forestry raw material areas" implemented since 2022 has opened up a new direction for Son La, which is to build large-scale, certified growing areas with closed value chains and the ability to meet export requirements.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong - Vice Chairman of Son La Provincial People's Committee said, Son La has the potential and advantages to develop agricultural products and OCOP products... In recent times, the province has focused on efforts to develop raw material areas in the direction of green and organic agriculture, as a foundation for building quality OCOP products".

*Son La has potential and advantages to develop agricultural products and OCOP products (Photo: Mai Anh)*

From the beginning, the province determined that this was not just a simple production task but a fundamental shift in agricultural development thinking. Thousands of households, cooperatives and businesses were selected to participate in the project, focusing on key crops such as mango, longan, passion fruit, plum, pineapple and short-term forestry crops.

After three years of implementation, Son La’s agricultural and forestry raw material areas have taken initial shape. Localities in the province have planned and developed more than 10,000 hectares of standard raw material areas, many of which have been granted growing area codes to serve export to demanding markets such as China, Korea, and the EU.

Along with that, infrastructure serving production has been invested in. Many internal roads, irrigation canals, warehouses, processing factories and purchasing centers have been built, helping to reduce transportation costs and improve the efficiency of agricultural product consumption. Community agricultural extension groups and cooperatives have been strengthened, becoming a bridge between people and businesses, providing technical support and supervising the production process.

The province has also promoted the application of digital technology in the management of growing areas. Electronic recording, scanning QR codes to trace origins, and monitoring output in real time help management agencies, businesses, and people grasp transparent information, convenient for consumption and export.

One of the outstanding results of the project is the change in farmers' awareness and production methods. They no longer grow based on experience but follow technical processes, applying VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic or equivalent standards.

Cooperatives play a central role in the transformation process. They are responsible for guiding cultivation, controlling input quality, harvesting, preserving and consuming products. Thanks to that, Son La’s agricultural products have had consistent quality, meeting high requirements on food safety and traceability.

Many typical models have appeared: Yen Chau mango area, Song Ma longan, Mai Son passion fruit, Moc Chau plum... all have been certified as standard raw material areas, have linked processing enterprises and signed long-term consumption contracts. This is an important foundation for Son La to aim to become a high-tech agricultural center of the Northern midland and mountainous region.

The production - processing - consumption chain is increasingly tight.

In particular, Son La has built a chain of links from farmers to cooperatives, businesses and distributors. Up to now, the whole province has hundreds of effective agricultural cooperatives, many of which have signed contracts with large enterprises.

Linkages help significantly reduce input costs, limit market risks and increase product value. According to statistics, when participating in the chain, the value of agricultural products increases by about 15 - 20%, post-harvest losses are reduced by 5 - 10%. Many businesses have invested in fruit processing factories, drying, juicing, and producing essential oils, contributing to extending the value chain and increasing profits.

In addition, the province focuses on trade promotion, connecting consumption with large supermarket systems, e-commerce platforms and export markets. The image of Son La agricultural products is increasingly appearing at fairs and product weeks in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City and international markets.

Over the past three years, agricultural production based on raw material areas has brought about clear economic efficiency. The average income of people participating in raw material areas has increased by 1.5 - 2 times compared to before. Many farming households have become well-off, their lives have improved, contributing to reducing the poverty rate in mountainous districts.

Along with economic benefits, the model also creates positive social impacts: raising people's awareness of food safety, environmental protection, promoting gender equality in production, when many women participate in cooperatives with key roles in product processing and consumption.

In particular, production according to standards helps Son La enhance its reputation and trust with purchasing enterprises. Many agricultural products of the province have been granted OCOP certification, meeting export standards, expanding to foreign markets.

Thanks to that, according to the Department of Industry and Trade of Son La, in the first 9 months of 2025, Son La province consumed more than 460,000 tons of fruit, reaching over 90% of the yearly plan, earning nearly 4,500 billion VND. Many key products such as mango, longan, plum, banana... are consumed stably domestically and exported to major markets.

Based on the achieved results, Son La province aims to have tens of thousands of hectares of standard raw material areas by 2025, while expanding the scale of linkages between farmers - cooperatives - enterprises.
The province will continue to improve infrastructure serving growing areas, encourage investment in deep processing centers, cold storage, and packaging factories to increase the value of agricultural products. Trade promotion and advertising activities will be promoted, associated with building the brand "Son La agricultural products - Quality, safety, sustainability".
In addition, the locality is implementing a digital management system for growing areas, using a common data platform to connect with the national traceability system. This is an important step for Son La agricultural products to meet the transparency requirements of import markets.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/son-la-phat-trien-vung-nguyen-lieu-nong-san-dat-chuan-xuat-khau-429246.html