Vice Chairman of the Son La provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Cong, who is also Chairman of the provincial OCOP Product Evaluation and Classification Council, chaired a conference on January 22 to announce the results of the second round of OCOP (One Commune One Product) product evaluation and classification in the province for 2025.

Nam Lau is a commune with significant advantages for agricultural development, in which coffee has been identified as a key crop helping local people escape poverty. The commune has nearly 3,000 households, of which about 85% cultivate coffee, with a total area of more than 1,770 hectares.

Muong Sai is a commune located in the reservoir area of the Son La Hydropower Plant, characterised by fragmented terrain and an economy primarily based on agriculture. The population is entirely composed of ethnic minority groups. Effectively implementing preferential policies and utilising investment capital from State programmes and projects have provided important momentum for the commune’s comprehensive development, particularly in improving rural infrastructure and creating sustainable livelihoods for local people.

In 2025, Son La province’s total service revenue reached about 11.426 trillion VND (435 million USD), up 13.01% from the previous year.

Son La province’s fresh tea bud output hit 55,970 tonnes in 2025, an increase of 5% compared to the previous year.

Son La province’s total retail sales of goods hit nearly 41.13 trillion VND (1.56 billion USD) in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.15%.

Son La province has 2,964 hectares of aquaculture areas in the reservoir zones of hydropower plants. In 2025, total aquatic output reached over 9,200 tonnes, including nearly 7,800 tonnes from aquaculture and more than 1,400 tonnes from catching.

With decisive policies to remove bottlenecks in land clearance and to improve the legal framework, Son La province has attracted numerous investors with projects ranging from hundreds to thousands of billions of VND in the fields of commercial housing and urban development. These projects have contributed to transforming the urban landscape and have become a key driving force for local economic growth.

Son La’s services sector outperformed its 2025 plan, generating 16.77 trillion VND (638.04 million USD), up 9.5% from 2024, reinforcing its role as a key pillar of the provincial economy. Double-digit growth in retail sales and exports underscored the effectiveness of market-stabilisation efforts and tighter controls on trade fraud.

Identifying the spring crop as the most important production season of the year, the agricultural sector and localities across Son La province are stepping up preparations to secure seed structure, agricultural supplies and irrigation water, aiming to complete planting within the recommended timeline and achieve high yield and quality.

So far, farmers in Chieng Lao commune have grown more than 3,154 hectares of cassava, with various varieties.

Chieng So commune is home to 1,565 hectares of fruit, including 1,178 hectares of longan, 201 hectares of mango and 186 hectares of others.

Leveraging the climate and soil conditions of Na San Plateau, Chieng Mai commune has maintained and expanded its Arabica coffee area to more than 3,790 hectares.

Muong Khieng commune has nearly 9,400 buffaloes and cows, and about 7,000 pigs. In November, African swine fever was detected in pigs, while lumpy skin disease emerged among buffalo and cow.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment on December 24 organised a conference providing an overview of forest resources and orientations for sustainable forestry development in Son La; information on biosphere reserves in Vietnam and around the world. It also shared experience and procedures for establishing biosphere reserves in accordance with UNESCO criteria.

A highlight of Son La province’s economic landscape in 2025 are its achievements in attracting investment. During the year, the province approved 39 new investment project proposals with a total registered capital of over 22.1 trillion VND (839.3 million USD), marking a 12.7-fold increase compared to 2024. These projects have become a key driver of growth, significantly contributing to the restructuring of the provincial economy.

Ta Xua bamboo tube tea has been listed in Top 20 outstanding projects in the National Startup Competition 2025.

Son La province’s aquaculture output in November is estimated at 685.2 tonnes, including 676 tonnes of fish, 0.2 tonnes of shrimp and 8.6 tonnes of other aquatic products .

Son La province recorded 192 newly established enterprises and affiliated units in November, with total registered capital of nearly 351 billion VND (13.33 million USD), up 260% and 127% year-on-year, respectively. The total number of businesses operating in the province has now surpassed 4,500.

Tay Nguyen University in Dak Lak province on December 10 hosted the award ceremony for the “Innovative Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation in the Coffee Sector” competition, organised by the coffee industry innovation cluster.