Many OCOP products of Nghe An still have difficulty finding outlets

Product enhancement

Dien Trung Commune is a locality with strengths in poultry farming in Dien Chau district, with hundreds of households raising meat chickens and egg-laying chickens. Realizing the potential and strengths, more than 120 local members joined hands to build Dien Trung Livestock Cooperative, with the main product being chicken eggs. In 2020, this product was recognized by Nghe An province as achievingOCOP3 stars, from there, the breeding and trading of chicken egg products have made remarkable progress.

Dien Trung Commune is a locality with strengths in poultry farming in Dien Chau district. Photo: QA

Mr. Dau Ngoc Hoa - Director of Dien Trung Livestock Cooperative said: Before being recognized as an OCOP product, local chicken eggs had a large output but were consumed in a fragmented, small-scale manner, without any connection, and the product output was uneven. However, since being recognized as a 3-star OCOP, the product has been better received by the market, tens of thousands of eggs are basically sold out in a day, and the cooperative members are very excited.

Currently, the cooperative produces about 20,000 chicken eggs per day, of which a large number have been contracted with schools in the district. In addition, egg products have been imported to 4-5 supermarkets in Dien Chau district and Vinh city. The remaining eggs are sold regularly on the market at a price of 3,000 VND/egg.

Every day, the cooperative supplies the market with more than 20,000 quality eggs. Photo: QA

In the early days of 2023, Ms. Le Thi Huong - owner of Huong Hoa orange farm, Anh Son district, is also excited with the joy of a good harvest and good prices because this year's oranges have good productivity and are well received by the market. Her family's orange products were recognized by Nghe An province as 3-star OCOP in 2021, from that time on, orange consumption will be easier.

After achieving OCOP certification, the orange products of Ms. Le Thi Huong's family in Dinh Son commune (Anh Son) are consumed strongly. Photo: QA

Ms. Le Thi Huong shared: When the product was not yet OCOP, although the oranges were properly cared for and had good quality, consumption still encountered many difficulties. The family mainly sought out consumption channels and promoted them on social networking sites. However, since receiving the OCOP certificate, the number of customers placing orders has increased, not only customers in the province but also customers from the South and the North, which made us very excited. Not only that, the family's products have also participated in many fairs and conferences, contributing to promoting the image of Nghe An oranges to friends from all over the world.

In fact, since being recognized as OCOP products, many products and agricultural products in the province have had more leverage to reach further in the market, have more stable consumption, and increase income for people and cooperatives. On the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2023, many OCOP products of Nghe An have been chosen by consumers; such as Vinh oranges, Hoang Mai spirulina, cordyceps wine, soy sauce, fish sauce, lotus tea, mushrooms, chicken eggs, including rattan and bamboo products...

People choose OCOP products. Photo: QA

Still "stuck" output

Although most products after achieving OCOP certification have made new progress in production and consumption, in reality, there are still some products struggling to find outlets, or have not made a breakthrough in accessing the market.

The rice vermicelli and rice paper production cooperative in Quy Chinh craft village in Nam Dan town has a rice vermicelli product that has been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product in 2020. However, according to the assessment of the profession, the product has not yet had the expected growth, the main consumption channel is still clean stores and regular customers.

Although rice vermicelli products have been recognized as OCOP products, according to professionals, product output has not increased as expected. Photo: QA

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh - representative of the Rice Vermicelli Production Cooperative Group shared: Currently, rice vermicelli products are facing great competition in the market. We have to carefully select raw materials, comply with regulations to be granted certificates, not to mention packaging and packaging costs to bring to the market, with a reasonable selling price of around 30,000 VND/kg. However, the types of vermicelli floating on the market are only sold for 20,000 - 22,000 VND/kg, so they are not competitive.

Although An Ngai grapefruit has been certified as OCOP, its consumption market is unstable. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Similar to rice vermicelli, An Ngai grapefruit products in Tan An commune, Tan Ky district are also struggling to find an outlet. This product was recognized as a 3-star OCOP in 2021, with 7 households participating in the cooperative. Since the recognition, the product has mainly been sold retail and has not been able to reach stores and supermarkets.

Mr. Cao Tien Thin - Chairman of Tan An Commune People's Committee said: In the past year, An Ngai grapefruit has encountered many difficulties, unstable consumption, with prices ranging from only 12,000 - 15,000 VND/fruit, while the actual selling price must be over 30,000 VND/fruit for farmers to make a profit and also commensurate with the investment and care to be able to achieve OCOP products. Currently, the main consumption channel of this specialty is still retail or import for traders, not being able to consume as strongly as expected.

Booths introducing OCOP Nghe An products. Photo: QA

Not only rice vermicelli, grapefruit products... but in fact, there are still OCOP products of Nghe An that after being recognized have not found a stable purchasing unit, access to markets is still limited. Therefore, to be accepted by the market, the subjects and production households that have achieved OCOP certification need to invest in improving product quality, increasing promotion on communication channels, designing eye-catching packaging and labels, creating appeal to consumers... At the same time, local authorities and functional agencies need to step up support for connecting, finding purchasing units, increasing the participation of OCOP Nghe An products in supply - demand fairs to promote products to potential markets...