Apart from expanding consumption market, enhancing production capacity and improving product designs and quality, the promotion of marketing activities is considered to be an important factor in promoting consumption of OCOP (One Commune-One Product) products.

However, small production establishments and business households in the field of agricultural production are currently facing difficulties due to their limited capacity, accessibility and economic potential. Therefore, it is high time for Da Nang to issue support mechanisms and policies for them to boost the trade of OCOP products.

A consumer is seen buying leafy green vegetables grown at the Tuy Loan Organic Vegetables Consumption and Production Service Cooperative which are on sale at the Co.opmart Da Nang supermarket. Photo: QUYNH TRANG

Modest consumption market

Recent surveys show that a number of Da Nang's OCOP products have been on sale in some modern distribution channels, but the number of products as well as the area displayed for sale has been quite modest.

At a vegetable selling area of the Co.opmart Da Nang supermarket, aside from some vegetables and tubers sourced from Da Lat, Gia Lai and Phu Yen, there are now katuk, spinaches and broccolis grown at the Tuy Loan Organic Vegetables Consumption and Production Service Cooperative in Hoa Vang District.

Marketing Manager of the Co.opmart Da Nang Nguyen Dac Thuan said that his supermarket has started buying vegetables from the Tuy Loan Organic Vegetables Consumption and Production Service Cooperative since late 2020, with a daily average of 80 kg of vegetables of all kinds.

The Cooperative’s vegetable products have quite good quality, are beautifully packaged and have the same prices as those imported from other units. However, the quality of vegetables has not been uniform and reduced in bad weather.

“In addition to promoting the implementation of the 'Vietnamese People Give Priority to Using Vietnamese Goods' campaign in the new situation, our supermarket has paid attention to the distribution of OCOP products with the aim of helping OCOP manufacturers and cooperatives citywide bring their products to consumers” added Mr. Thuan.

He, however, pointed out some difficulties in consumption linkages because the output and quality of OCOP products are not stable, and the supply is often disrupted. Additionally, many OCOP products lack product quality announcement records.

Similarly, leafy green vegetables and cantaloupes of the AFARM Hi-tech Agriculture JSC based in Hoa Vang District’s Hoa Phu Commune have achieved 4-star OCOP certification and received high appreciation from retailers thanks to their modified atmosphere packaging with clear labelling and traceability. However, these products have yet to be present in supermarkets and trade centres, but are only available in 5 mini food stores.

According to Director of CNC Farm Agriculture JSC Nguyen Tan Phuong, it is not easy for modern production units and distribution channels like supermarkets to find a common voice in bringing local products into the supermarket system due to many problems, including low cost and high debt.

Currently, there are four stalls displaying OCOP products at the city-based Supermarket Go!. However, none of Da Nang's OCOP products have been officially sold on big retailers as well as Supermarket Go!

Mrs. Vo Thi Thu Thuy, Director of the Supermarket Go!, remarked her super supermarket's purchasing centre is on track to find out suppliers and evaluate the quality of Da Nang’s OCOP products to sign official contracts and distribute these products on the supermarket system nationwide.

“Da Nang has many potential OCOP products with strong consumption capacity such as Ba Nam’s ‘tre’ (a kind of fermented pork), Ba Lieu 'banh kho me' (dried sesame seed cakes), My Phuong’s baked peanut-coconut cake, etc. However, the city is in need of promoting cooperation with large retail chains and marketing campaigns nationwide in order to bring local OCOP products to large distribution systems” emphasised Mrs. Thuy.

Promoting trade connections

In order to support the city's typical products to develop and find a foothold in the market, over the past time, the city’s industry and trade sector has coordinated with relevant agencies and localities to carry out many trade promotion activities.

Included are supporting booth rental fees for agricultural product production facilities; facilitating production and business units to attend domestic and foreign fairs, and supply and demand connection events; supporting packaging design; and consulting solutions to promote brand names and register for exclusive protection of trademarks of agricultural products.

Till date, 40 products have been recognised by the municipal administration as 3 and 4-star ones under the so-called OCOP model. 17 of them have met 4-star standards, and the remaining 23 meeting 3-star standards.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Huu Hanh informed that the city’s industry and trade sector was developing projects to upgrade the city's e-commerce trading floor system, and a project to build an online market to support market stallholders to boost online sales.

Besides, importance will be attached to promoting the application of information technology and digital transformation in trade promotion activities in the city, with a focus on making the virtual exhibition platform an effective tool for introducing and promoting the city’s products.

Last, but not least, the department will coordinate with the Da Nang branch of the Viet Nam Military Industry-Telecoms Group to deploy a virtual exhibition app to support local businesses in promoting, introducing and exhibiting products online.

Reporting by QUYNH TRANG - Translating by M.DUNG