Hanoi (VNA) –Vietnam hopes to have 3,843 products qualified for standards of One Commune-OneProduct (OCOP) programmes by this year, said deputy minister of agriculture andrural development Tran Thanh Nam at a conference in Hanoi on January 9.

Among those products, more than 2,200 are food and 397 are drinks. Theothers are herbal products, textile fabrics, souvenirs, furniture and tourismor service products.

Localities across the country currently have about 2,400 products qualified forOCOP standards.

The programme targets standardising at least 1,200 more products by thisyear and having about 500 new small and medium-sized businesses and cooperativesmaking OCOP products.

The OCOP programme waslaunched in May, 2018 to develop one strong product for each commune.After one year and a half, it has contributed to rural areaconstruction, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“The programme has become a widespread campaign in many countries in Asia,Africa and Europe with various names. Although Vietnam kicked off the programmequite late, it has come up with initiatives to connect global network. Thevalues of OCOP, handicraft products and art souvenirs have beenrecognised,” Nam said.

According to the ministry, after the issuance of OCOP certificates, productshave been given stamps to trace their origin.

Retailers and e-commerce suppliers have signed consumption contracts to buyOCOP products. Profits from these products have also been on the increase.

Ngo Tat Thang, deputy chief of staff of National Steering Committee onNew-Style Rural Areas, said OCOP products have their quality improved andpackaging diversified as well as meet standards on stamps and labels.

Nguyen Minh Tien, chief of staff of the committee, said trade promotion at thenational level needs to be prioritised. The Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment plans to work with ministries and agencies toorganise national OCOP trade fairs and festivals and three regionalOCOP fairs.

The localities should step up provincial trade promotion and expand a networkof OCOP product stores and centres as well as foster OCOP e-commerce, he said.

He urged localities to improve market forecast quality, especially long-termand annual forecasts to help enterprises with their business plans.

Authorities should encourage and offer support to people to preserve anddevelop traditional products. The Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment recently launched a portal which shares market information to helpfarmers access markets easier, Tien said./.