HCM CITY — After three years of implementing the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme, patterned after similar efforts in Japan and Thailand, the northern province of Quảng Ninh has improved the quality and commercial potential of more than 280 traditional products.

Speaking at a seminar on “Commercial Finance and Product Development: Measures to Support Businesses” on Thursday, Ngô Tất Thắng, deputy head of the management board of the OCOP programme, said that competitive products of each village and commune had been identified with the goal of creating development and commercial strategies.

Under the programme, producers of traditional products have received training on how to improve quality, packaging and design of products, he said, adding that the OCOP brand was covered by intellectual property protection in Việt Nam.

In addition, the programme has offered producers support in interest rates and packaging design, among other areas.

It has also set up OCOP sales points, organised trade fairs and built e-commerce websites to market and enhance sales of OCOP products.

The province plans to continue implementing the programme as one of its important economic development programmes in the 2017-20 period.

The aim is to enhance development of agricultural and non-agricultural production, especially in sectors with competitive advantages such as fishery, forestry and material medicine.

It also targets to expand sales of OCOP products nationwide and gradually penetrate the world market, he said.

Nguyễn Kim Lang, deputy head of the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency, said Việt Nam’s specialty products needed better designs and packaging. In addition, promotion activities were also weak, he said.

Lang as well as many business executives at the seminar praised the OCOP programme in Quảng Ninh and said they hoped it would expand to other localities.

The seminar also discussed difficulties faced by enterprises in accessing bank loans and ways to remedy the problem.

The event was part of a programme designed to improve export competiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises through local trade promotions. — VNS