The OCOP Products and Regional Specialties Week in HCM City connects supply and demand, promoting products and boosting year-end consumption. — Photo nongnghiepmoitruong.vn

HCM CITY — HCM City is hosting the OCOP Products and Regional Specialties Week from December 19 to 21, bringing together nearly 400 enterprises, cooperatives and production establishments in an effort to expand consumption markets and stimulate year-end shopping demand.

The event take places at White Rabbit Park in the Back Beach area of Vũng Tàu Ward and is organised by the city's Department of Industry and Trade.

It forms part of a broader trade promotion programme aimed at supporting businesses and cooperatives in promoting products, expanding distribution networks and boosting domestic consumption towards the end of the year.

Participants come from 24 provinces and cities nationwide, including enterprises, cooperatives, production and trading facilities, distribution systems, and e-commerce platforms.

Around 3,000 product lines will be showcased, featuring nearly 2,000 OCOP-certified items rated from three to five stars, alongside hi-tech agricultural products, regional specialties, processed foods, and export-oriented goods and items under the market stabilisation programme.

The exhibition space is organised by region, enabling consumers to clearly identify the distinctive characteristics of local products while enhancing hands-on experiences through product sampling, production process introductions and storytelling.

For localities, the week offers an opportunity to highlight OCOP strengths, enhance brand value and improve competitiveness in major urban markets.

Beyond product displays, the event places strong emphasis on supply–demand linkage.

A series of B2B working sessions will connect enterprises and cooperatives directly with supermarket chains, wholesale markets, distributors, and exporters.

Discussions focus on quality standards, traceability, packaging, labelling, and the ability to ensure stable supply.

A notable highlight is the dedicated livestream sales zone and digital commerce training activities, designed to help enterprises and cooperatives adopt new business models and expand sales channels on digital platforms alongside traditional markets.

Through the event, the city aims to strengthen regional linkages, reduce intermediary layers, and integrate OCOP products and regional specialties more deeply into modern distribution systems, contributing to stable goods supply and providing fresh momentum for year-end consumer market growth.

Recently, the HCM City OCOP Product Trade Connectivity 2025 event, organised by the Department of Agriculture and Environment, was successfully held, serving as an important bridge between producers, distributors, and consumers.

The initiative has helped promote the OCOP brand of the newly merged city and laid the groundwork for key local products to further expand into domestic and international markets.

As of September, the city recorded 1,026 OCOP products, mainly in the three- and four-star categories, with no products yet achieving the national five-star level.

The city remains among the five localities nationwide with the highest number of OCOP-certified products.— VNS