Shrimp crackers are produced and dried under the sun in Cà Mau Province. – VNA/VNS Photo Minh Hưng

CÀ MAU – Households and others in Cà Mau Province who make OCOP items under the national one commune - one product programme are busy at work ahead of Tết (Lunar New Year) on February 1.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has 66 OCOP products rated three and four stars under the programme, which assigns one to five stars for items based on their marketing capacity, quality, unique features, export potential, and other criteria.

They include shrimp cracker, dried banana, dried fish, dried shrimp, fish sauce, honey, fermented mangrove crab, and bulrush pickles, all of which are in great demand during Tết.

Its shrimp cracker is well known nation-wide.

In the country’s largest shrimp producing province, the crackers are made mostly in communes in Năm Căn and Ngọc Hiển districts.

Vĩnh Hoà Phát Co. Ltd in Năm Căn’s Hàng Vịnh Commune is expected to produce around 13 tonnes for Tết, the same as last year.

The company’s products have three stars.

Mai Sáu, director of the company, said, “Because of the impact of the COVID – 19 pandemic, the company now sells its shrimp crackers in the domestic market and does not export them.”

The price of the crackers had increased by 10 per cent since last Tết because of high shrimp prices, he said.

Producers in the province use fresh shrimp and all have their own unique recipes.

According to Lữ Hồng Phúc, deputy chairwoman of the Hàng Vịnh Commune People’s Committee, shrimp for making crackers is abundant in the commune and of high quality.

Local authorities pay close attention to the product and work with producers to improve quality.

In the past households produced shrimp crackers and on a small scale and so supply did not meet demand.

“But there are now co-operatives and companies that produce on a large scale, and so trade promotion and outlets need to receive more attention.”

Trần Thị Bích Thuỷ in U Minh District’s Khánh Thuận Commune said her establishment, Minh Quân, produced 30 – 50 kilogrammes of dried soft banana a day for selling during Tết, two times the quantity it makes on normal days.

“The demand for dried soft banana from other provinces and cities is large,” she said.

She sells the product in Cà Mau and other provinces and cities, including HCM City, and also exports to Cambodia.

Its dried soft banana has been recognised as a three – star OCOP product.

She now uses banana she grows herself, but with demand increasing, she plans to buy the fruit from other farmers and expand production.

Other dried banana making establishments in Khánh Thuận Commune are also busy for Tết.

Trần Công Mười, chairman of the commune People’s Committee, promised to create conditions for producers to secure outlets and expand into other banana products in future.

To promote the consumption of the province’s OCOP and other key agricultural products, its administration has instructed relevant departments and localities to increase promotion and grow links between stakeholders in production and consumption. – VNS