OCOP subjects improve product quality to achieve OCOP star

Having many years of producing traditional dishes of the coastal region of Vinh Chau, Mr. Truong Ngoc An - Director of Phuc Hao Agricultural and Aquatic Products Production and Trading One Member Limited Liability Company, Ca Sang Hamlet, Ward 2, Vinh Chau Town (Soc Trang) shared: "Seeing that the dish of salted white radish is a familiar dish of the local people, I made sweet salted radish (which can also be used as a side dish for roast duck). When enjoying it, consumers highly appreciated it, I decided to produce more sweet salted radish by investing in a cold dryer, a date printer to make canned sweet salted radish to supply to the market. With the desire to expand the market and promote the traditional local dish to more customers, I brought the sweet salted radish product to participate in the OCOP star rating competition and the product achieved 3 OCOP stars in 2024".

Soc Trang evaluates and ranks OCOP products. Photo: THUY LIEU

According to Mr. An, after the product achieved OCOP star, the number of orders sold increased by 50 - 60% compared to before. Therefore, to improve the quality and quantity of sweet radish supplied to consumers, Mr. An invested in additional equipment such as fiber shredders, vacuum machines and was supported by specialized departments with solar-powered cold dryers, thanks to which the output of processed products is many times higher than before and almost all stages of radish production are done by machines. Currently, the average output of sweet radish is over 250kg/day (can produce more if customers request large quantities).

In addition to sweet pickled radish, Mr. An also produces sweet and sour pickled radish and salted pickled radish with an output of several tons to tens of tons/month (depending on the radish season). In the first quarter of 2025, Mr. An will bring sweet and sour pickled radish and salted pickled radish products to participate in the 3-star OCOP product ranking competition and in January 2025, he will participate in the 4-star OCOP product ranking competition for sweet pickled radish products.

Also a famous enterprise in food processing in Chau Thanh district (Soc Trang), Tu Thao Soc Trang Mushroom Export Food Processing Company Limited has many products that have achieved 4 OCOP stars such as: canned pineapple, canned straw mushrooms, canned baby corn, lotus seeds with rock sugar. Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung - Director of Tu Thao Mushroom Food Processing Export Company Limited said: "Since the company's products achieved OCOP star, we have had more sales channels than before and more customers have come to buy the products, the number of products sold on the market has increased by more than 30% compared to before. In addition to supplying the domestic market, OCOP star products have been exported to a number of countries around the world. Thanks to achieving OCOP star, the unit has received support from localities and specialized sectors in improving product packaging, trade promotion, and making the products more known to domestic consumers. Since then, the unit has continuously improved production equipment, improved product quality to meet the needs of the domestic and export markets."

Participating in the "common house" of OCOP, Mr. Tran Quoc Thanh, owner of Quoc Tin bird's nest, Ward 1, Vinh Chau town (Soc Trang) has products that have achieved 4 OCOP stars: ready-to-eat bird's nest with pandan leaf flavor, ready-to-eat bird's nest with cordyceps flavor, Quoc Tin bird's nest, premium instant bird's nest and 1 product is raw bird's nest that has achieved 3 OCOP stars. Mr. Quoc Thanh confided: "I have a total of 12 bird's nest houses, so the monthly raw bird's nest harvest is large and stable. Taking advantage of the available raw bird's nest source, I have diversified bird's nest products to participate in the OCOP star rating competition. When the product achieved the OCOP star, consumers trusted the product more and the number of customers increased by 30 - 40%. From the support of customers, I have continuously researched and produced processed bird's nest products to meet consumer needs. To produce new products, I boldly invested in a series of equipment for bird's nest processing, so most of the bird's nest processing stages are done by machine."

“After 6 years of implementing the OCOP Program Project, it has contributed to increasing the value of local products. OCOP star products with prescribed quality standards have better selling prices, higher sales volume, bringing better profits to OCOP subjects, contributing to improving community livelihoods, increasing local economic development. In the coming time, the unit will continue to advise the Provincial People's Committee to organize a competition to evaluate and rank OCOP products; coordinate with relevant units to support OCOP subjects in the province to participate in registering to introduce and promote trade of OCOP products in and outside the province; continue to support and guide OCOP subjects to register for protection of industrial property rights, apply science and technology in developing OCOP production; support necessary equipment suitable for each subject producing OCOP products, in order to improve productivity and quality of products delivered to consumers...", Mr. Tran Trong Khiem - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Soc Trang province shared.

Source: https://baosoctrang.org.vn/soc-trang-tiem-nang-va-phat-trien/202504/chu-the-ocop-nang-cao-chat-luong-san-pham-dat-sao-ocop-3cf7f45/