Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said the ‘1,000 OCOP product stories’ programme plays an important role in promoting and introducing OCOP products to consumers. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Tiki will coordinate to promote consumption of products under the One Commune One Product programme of HCM City and other provinces and cities involved in the city’s socio-economic development co-operation progarmme via an e-commerce platform.

This is a part of their cooperation programme named “1,000 OCOP product stories” that the trio signed in HCM City on August 14.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said localities have developed a wide range of OCOP-certified products, of which many are recognised at ‘four-star’ and ‘five-star’, signifying their potential to reach international standards, but the products have encountered difficulties in consumption.

The cooperation between the three plays an important role in promoting, advertising and bringing OCOP products to consumers and will solve problems involved in the production and consumption of OCOP products, he said.

Nguyễn Quách Nhi, food and FMCG commercial director at Tiki, said most of the current OCOP products are recognised at ‘three-star’. But their brand awareness is not popular; the distribution channels for OCOP products remain modest.

The "1,000 OCOP product stories" programme will create an effective supporting environment and system of tools for businesses, cooperatives and OCOP subjects to promote their products to consumers nationwide through the e-commerce channel, he said.

The programme’s biggest goal goes beyond just selling OCOP products of HCM City and other provinces and cities on the Tiki e-commerce platform, to telling the unique product story of each OCOP product, which represents the culture of a specific locality, to consumers. This will create a differentiation for the products and add more value to them, he added.

Initially, the programme will focus on promoting four- and five-star OCOP products by setting up OCOP booths of provinces and cities on Tiki, with each booth featuring about 50-100 of the most typical and unique OCOP products of each locality.

The programme needs support from the authorities of localities involved in the programme to ensure selecting the right products to win consumers’ trust.

Nguyễn Hữu Hoài Phú, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the city has 66 OCOP certified products at three stars and above and targets 100 more getting OCOP designation by the end of this year.

“The ‘1,000 OCOP stories’ programme will help the city’s OCOP products and those of other cities and provinces associated with the city to develop further,” he said.

Delegates signed an agreement for a programme on building brands for Cần Giờ agricultural products at a ceremony in HCM City on August 14. — VNS Photo

Also on August 14, the trio and the People's Committee of Cần Giờ District signed a cooperation agreement for a programme on building brands for Cần Giờ agricultural products.

In the initial phase, the programme will focus on improving design and competitiveness for Cần Giờ edible bird nest products as well as promoting their consumption in the local and international market.

"Việt Nam's edible bird nests are being evaluated by major markets as having the best quality, and could be priced higher than similar products from other countries,” Nhi said.

The world's edible bird nest market size is estimated to be worth more than US$8 billion a year, while it is estimated at $800 million a year in Việt Nam, with an annual average growth rate of 20 per cent. The swift-bird breeding industry has been included in the national livestock development strategy.

Cần Giờ bird nest has a number of advantages to build into the "world's best" bird nest brand, he said.

Trương Tiến Triển, deputy chairman of Cần Giờ District People's Committee, said the district has 519 houses raising the birds, of which 459 houses have been harvested, with output estimated at 14.96 tonnes worth about VNĐ250 billion a year.

Most of the products are consumed in the domestic market, Triển said.

He suggested the authorities soon issue a document guiding registration and granting of codes for swiftlet-raising establishments to help in the preparation of documents for bird nest exports. — VNS