Many OCOP products are struggling in the consumption stage.

Many OCOP products struggle to find outlets

The One Commune One Product program in Nghe An has developed quite strongly. Currently, 21/21 districts, cities and towns in the province have participated in building and developing OCOP products. By the end of 2022, the whole province had 403 products recognized as having 3 stars or more, of which 359 products achieved 3 stars, accounting for 89.08%; 43 products achieved 4 stars, accounting for 10.66% and 2 products with the potential to achieve 5 stars are being submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for recognition.

Among them, there are quite a few products that are known to domestic consumers. Besides paying attention to product quality and ensuring food safety, localities and entities focus on building packaging, labels, traceability stamps, and building product brands to meet market requirements.

Many products are present in modern retail systems, have built a large distribution network and become export items, are positively received by the market, annual revenue reaches tens of billions of VND, creating jobs for many workers.

Specifically: Duc Phong bamboo and rattan lanterns (Duc Phong Co., Ltd., Nghi Phu, Vinh City), Luong Son rice paper (Do Luong), NAP Food instant eel... According to the assessment of the Department of Science and Technology, OCOP products have invested in labels, beautiful packaging, and built a brand that initially creates trust for consumers and is accepted by the market. Thanks to that, the selling price has increased by 10-30%, profits have increased and have found a place in distribution systems, large retail output and exports.

However, besides products with stable consumption markets and good revenue, there are still OCOP products that lack output, are struggling to find markets and struggle in consumption. That is the story of ginger - a specialty of Ky Son, spicy and rich in flavor, different from ginger grown in other regions. Therefore, in 2020, Ky Son fresh ginger products were assigned geographical indications and recognized as 3-star OCOP. It was thought that these recognitions would be a "passport" for Ky Son ginger products to reach far in the market, have a stable consumption place and aim for export, increase the value of fresh ginger, and bring high income to the people of this mountainous district.

However, from 2021 until now, ginger prices have continuously dropped dramatically, from 20,000 VND/kg to only 4,000-5,000 VND/kg but still difficult to sell, at times, thousands of tons of ginger that people had left had to call for "rescue". And in the 2023 ginger season, ginger prices still hit rock bottom and thousands of tons of ginger were still unsold, with no outlet, causing people in the communes of Na Ngoi, Dooc May, Tay Son, Nam Can... to struggle.

Similar to Thanh My grapefruit (Thanh Chuong), although it has been recognized as a 3-star OCOP and has a traceability label, the output for grapefruit is still through traditional channels, which are retail to the market or wholesale to traders. Compared to Dien grapefruit, Northern grapefruit or Southern green-skin grapefruit, Thanh My grapefruit is still not "famous" in the market. "After being recognized as a 3-star OCOP, the production process and investment in labels are more expensive, but the selling price in the market is still not higher than before" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan, Director of Thanh My grapefruit cooperative said.

SomeOCOP productsSeasonal products such as mushrooms, oranges, turmeric starch, honey, processed medicinal herbs, vegetables, candies, banh chung, bamboo and rattan weaving, ham, sausage... in some localities are not unique or outstanding, so consumption is seasonal, some products are difficult to sell when the weather changes or epidemics have run out. Many products produced in other localities are already available.

Promote consumption

Among the more than 400 products that have beenOCOP starThere are many products such as: Nhut, honey, chicken eggs, incense, grapefruit, vegetable powder... that still have difficulty in output, the market is limited, the cost and value of the products have not been raised after being recognized. One of the reasons is that, currently, the production scale of OCOP entities is still small. The products created are mainly in raw form. Therefore, only a few products can enter modern distribution channels or be exported, the remaining 70% of products are consumed through traditional channels.

Besides, it cannot be denied that in many localities, the development of OCOP products is still a movement, not interested or not confident in widely consuming them in the domestic or international market. Many new products but lack of communication budget so consumers do not know or know only limited such as essential oils, shampoos, soaps... Many enterprises and cooperatives, although their products have achieved stars, have difficulty in consumption, on the one hand due to the market having an excess supply of similar products, on the other hand, lacking solutions to maintain product promotion.

Meanwhile, OCOP products often have a certain shelf life, which affects the capital of the producer when there is a surplus and cannot be consumed. Or simply in a province, a single product with many different names is difficult to develop. For example, Mr. A's turmeric starch, Mr. B's turmeric starch, Ms. C's turmeric starch...

At the conferenceConnecting consumption of regional agricultural products in Nghe Anheld at the end of May 2023, Mr. Pham Van Duy, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasized: "For an OCOP product to have a foothold in the market, first of all, the subjects must determine whether this is a typical product of the region or not; next is stable production output and finally the stage of designing the model and packaging for the product".

Mr. Nguyen Son Tin, Director of HASAFOOD Joint Stock Company, the owner of 6 OCOP products (Minh Hop commune, Quy Hop) suggested: We wish to participate in more trade promotion conferences; to be supported in connecting supply and demand to find markets. At the same time, to be supported in putting products on e-commerce platforms, diversifying consumption channels. On the other hand, to be introduced and supported to be present on the shelves of modern retail systems, expanding market share. Because currently, the biggest difficulty for start-ups from local agricultural products is still the consumption market.

To promote the consumption of OCOP products, it is necessary to diversify consumption channels; promote consumption through commercial channels; train marketing skills and online sales for OCOP subjects; build and perfect an e-commerce database connecting OCOP products; promote communication and promotion of OCOP products to users; promote market research on OCOP products; build and form organizations of subjects and partners; invest in developing e-commerce logistics for OCOP products; build chains linking the consumption of OCOP products.

With existing potentials and strengths, along with the strong promotion of innovation, science and technology, OCOP products are expected to promote the development of agricultural production associated with processing, connecting product consumption markets according to the value chain, contributing to increasing people's income, changing the face of agriculture and rural areas. However, localities and OCOP entities need to recognize that, to dominate the market, in addition to certifications, the core is still the value and quality of the products.