Visitors at the week to promote, introduce and sell OCOP products that was held in Long Biên District. — Photos courtesy of Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

HÀ NỘI — The capital city of Hà Nội has had many programmes to promote the consumption of products under the One Commune One Product Programme (OCOP) to increase the volume of those products on the municipal market.

Since the beginning of August, the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has organised three events, the weeks to promote, introduce and sell products from the OCOP programme, craft villages, safe agricultural and food product producers in three districts of Bắc Từ Liêm, Long Biên and Thạch Thất.

Opening ceremony of the week to promote, introduce and sell products from the OCOP programme was held in Bắc Từ Liêm District.

Each event had more than 50 booths displaying products of more than 40 enterprises, business households and cooperatives from Hà Nội and other provinces such as Tuyên Quang, Quảng Ninh, Hà Tĩnh, Yên Bái, Khánh Hòa, Lào Cai, Hòa Bình and Thanh Hóa.

The three events attracted a large number of consumers in the capital as well as domestic and foreign tourists, to visit and shop at those booths. This is an opportunity for producers of OCOP products to introduce products to the market.

Director of Ba Vì Farm Dairy Joint Stock Company in Ba Vì District Nguyễn Thị Mai said the company sold a lot of products, especially OCOP-certified products from three-stars or more in the week organised by the Coordination Office of the New-Style Rural Development Programme of Hà Nội in Thạch Thất District.

Tạ Văn Tường, deputy director of Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In particular, this was also an opportunity for the company to grasp the tastes of the consumers in the capital city, thereby improving product designs and quality and having a suitable production and business strategy, Mai said.

Đinh Thị Dung, a customer from Hai Bà Trưng District, Hà Nội, shared the week of consumption promotion of products from the OCOP programme, craft villages, safe agricultural and food product producers held in Bắc Từ Liêm District introduced many goods items for the customers, including fruits, seafood and household items with clear origin and reasonable prices.

Meanwhile, Dương Thị Huệ, the owner of a facility producing fried featherback fish, a four-star OCOP product, said: “Hà Nội organising the event on consultation, introduction and consumption promotion of OCOP products every week has contributed to bringing more OCOP products to consumers.”

Huệ hopes that the city will integrate the trade promotion programmes for OCOP products into tourism activities so that tourists can enjoy Hà Nội's OCOP products at the production facility of those products.

Tạ Văn Tường, deputy director of Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, has affirmed that trade promotion events are important for businesses to introduce the OCOP products to customers, as well as for authorities to support and consult the producers and suppliers of OCOP products in ensuring safe and quality standards.

Thereby, the OCOP products and regional specialities are gradually recognised by consumers. They have appreciated the quality and packaging design of those products.

The booth of Dương Thị Huệ, the owner of a facility producing fried featherback fish - a four-star OCOP product, at the week to promote, introduce and sell OCOP products.

Weekly events help production and business entities strengthen trade connections to find distributors for products, exchange experiences on digital transformation, and flexible adaptation solutions after the pandemic and market fluctuations.

This is also a practical activity to respond to the campaign "Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese goods" in the new situation, contributing to promoting OCOP products associated with craft village tourism and rural tourism.

According to the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the city has certified 2,167 out of 9,852 OCOP products. They include six five-star products, 12 potential five-star products, 1,369 four-star products, and 780 three-star products.

The certified products contain 1,372 food products, 47 beverage products; 39 herbal products; 660 handicrafts products; 47 fabrics and apparel products; and two tourism products.

Visitors at the week to promote, introduce and sell products from the OCOP programme was opened in Thạch Thất District.

The OCOP programme is aimed at innovating production thinking and creating a strong change in the construction and development of the rural economy, especially in handicraft villages.

Nguyễn Văn Chi, Deputy Chief of the Standing Coordination Office for the Programme of Building New-Style Rural Areas in Hà Nội, said that from now until the end of 2023, this programme would organise many events to promote, connect and consume OCOP products.

Specifically, Hà Nội planned to organise four events - weeks of consultation, introduction and consumption promotion products from the OCOP programme, craft villages, safe agricultural product producers; and four other events on introducing OCOP products associated with cultural activities of the northern mountainous provinces, and the Red River Delta, the Central Highlands and the South regions.

In addition, producers of the certified OCOP products are recommended to maintain and improve the quality of products and strengthen linkages under value chains to increase the volume of them on the market.

On the other hand, distributors also need to actively strengthen trade connections in consumption of OCOP products, including trading centres, supermarkets, shops dealing in safe agricultural and food products, handicraft shops, points of introduction and sale of OCOP products and online trading floors. — VNS

*The article is written in collaboration with the Coordination Office of the New Rural Development Programme in Hà Nội.