Diversifying products

Grasping market demand, several years ago, the Quyet Thanh Agricultural Cooperative in Moc Chau Farm town, Moc Chau district, invested in modern drying equipment using technologies from the Republic of Korea and Japan to process products such as dried chewy and crispy fruits. Notably, its product "dried chewy persimmon" has helped establish the cooperative's brand.

The cooperative’s deputy director Luong Thi Thanh stated that the cooperative, established in 2018, currently has 26 members and 34 hectares of persimmons and plums grown under VietGAP standards. It has invested in six cold dryers with a capacity of approximately 5 tonnes of fresh fruit per day. Since the beginning of this year, the cooperative has processed nearly 200 tonnes of plums and strawberries. Six of its products have received 3-star and 4-star ratings under the OCOP (one commune one product) programme. Currently, more than 10 tonnes of dried fruits are supplied to the market for the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Meanwhile, the Hai Dang Food Technology Co., Ltd., located in Quyet Thang ward, Son La city, has added new products, including pineapple- and plum-flavoured candies to its portfolio for the Lunar New Year market. These days, the company's workers are busy fulfilling orders, packing, and delivering products to customers.

Le Thi Quynh Trang, Director of the company, said that the company operates a 5,000sq.m factory equipped with modern drying machines. It also has a showroom in Quyet Thang ward to display and introduce around 30 types of agricultural products. To serve customers during Tet, the company has designed attractive packaging for its products, with gift box prices ranging from nearly 500,000 VND to 1 million VND (40 USD) each.

To meet the market demand for clean vegetables and fruits at the end of the year and during the Lunar New Year, starting from October, cooperatives and affiliated households have begun planting various types of vegetables, focusing on napa cabbage, cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, and tomatoes. 

Le Dinh Hiep, Director of the Son La Safe Agricultural Cooperative, said that with many years of experience in producing vegetables for the Tet market, the cooperative has proactively developed a production plan that caters to a variety of products, including expanding the area for leafy vegetables, herbs, and off-season crops. With an area of 30 hectares, it is expected to supply about 3-5 tonnes of vegetables and fruits per day during the festival.

Dried smoked meat (thit kho gac bep) is an essential product in many families' Tet feast offerings. Therefore, various organisations and individuals are actively preparing these products for the market.

Quang Thi Xuan in Lau hamlet, Son La city’s Chieng Le ward, said that currently, dried smoked meat has become a popular product favoured by consumers nationwide, especially during holidays and Tet. Since early November, her family has been taking orders for the Tet season. The average prices are 750,000-800,000 VND (29.5-31.5 USD) per kilogram for dried buffalo or beef, 400,000 VND per kilogram for dried pork, and 350,000 VND per kilogram for sausages.

Along with placing direct orders with processing and manufacturing facilities, customers can also order via e-commerce platforms, visit OCOP product stores and those displaying exemplary rural industrial products at the Son La provincial Museum, and Vigolando Restaurant in Van Ho district, and buy products at supermarkets and commercial centres inside and outside the province.

Intensifying connectivity to sell products

To ensure Son La’s agricultural products are sold well, the Son La Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion Centre is preparing a series of promotional activities for the year-end period. Director Le Thi Hong Anh stated that from December 20-22, the centre will organize a programme to support information development for brand-building, market connection and expansion for small and medium-sized enterprises in Thanh Hoa city of the central province of the same name. Twenty-four enterprises specialising in the production and processing of agricultural products will bring their standout products and OCOP items there to display and introduce to partners and customers.

Additionally, the centre will participate in a Vietnamese Goods Week in Hanoi, an OCOP product fair, and the Quang Ninh Culinary Fair. Through these activities, many products will be distributed through supermarket chains such as Big C, Saigon Co.op, WinMart, WinMart+, and others nationwide.

Currently, the province boasts approximately 154 OCOP products rated from 3-star to 5-star, along with 30 outstanding rural industrial products.

The province’s safe agricultural products, OCOP items, and exemplary rural industrial goods are now available across localities, supermarkets, and safe vegetable and fruit store chains both within and outside the province, meeting consumers’ increasing demands for the year-end and Lunar New Year periods.