The recognition came after the National Coordinating Office for New-style Rural Development had organised a meeting of its council evaluating and classifying products under the OCOP programme at the national level in 2024.

On this occasion, Bac Giang Newspaper interviewed Le Ba Thanh, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Luc Ngan lychee is one of the very few fresh agricultural products in the country recognized as a 5-star OCOP product. What factors have helped this product win this recognition?

In recent years, Bac Giang has always focused on implementing the OCOP programme and achieved positive results. The fresh lychee obtaining the 5-star OCOP status is a very special case. This product earned a high score by affirming its position domestically and internationally, with 50-60% of its total production exported each year. The lychee has its brand name with great reputation and is protected in many countries.

In addition, Bac Giang is also the largest lychee growing area in the country, which is assessed by the government as an important fruit growing area. The product has been exported to not only neighbouring China but also Europe, Japan and the US. It deserves to be recognised as a 5-star OCOP product and become a national product. This event has changed thinking, marked an important milestone, and created a turning point in the awareness of building OCOP products.

To be recognised as a 5-star OCOP product, how did Bac Giang do and what were the key solutions?

Building a product meeting the 5-star OCOP standard was a very long journey, throughout many generations. However, the key solutions were zoning off concentrated growing areas, attracting businesses and innovating production methods, and promoting the endogenous strength of product owners.

For a long time, Bac Giang province has paid attention to zoning off concentrated lychee growing areas applying advanced processes, ensuring product quality. It has disseminated information and encouraged the Hong Xuan Agricultural Production and General Services Cooperative to register for the 5-star OCOP classification and evaluation.

The cooperative has promoted its endogenous strength and continuously strived to improve products. It has focused on investing in packaging and boosting production under advanced processes. Products are put on shelves in modern domestic retail systems. The cooperative sells and exports thousands of tonnes of lychees each year. Its products have reached the international market, increasing production and business efficiency, and contributing to the development of the collective economic model.

Another factor, we prepared very early the conditions for packaging facilities, granting growing area codes, building brands, and protecting geographical indications domestically and internationally. If Bac Giang did not build its own fresh lychee brand, it would certainly not have a 5-star OCOP product as it does today.

With the experience gained, in the coming time, to have more 5-star OCOP products, what will Bac Giang focus on?

In the past, we thought that OCOP products served the domestic market only, but now there have been many changes. More than 40 countries have developed OCOP products, and many countries have imported OCOP products from Bac Giang, such as China and the US. Thus, the OCOP recognition will help bring local products to the international market more easily.

After working hard to have the first 5-star OCOP product, Bac Giang has gained more experience to make other products recognised. In the coming time, for more 5-star OCOP products, Bac Giang will focus on selecting local advantageous products and developing processed agricultural products with export potential such as processed lychee and longan, and Chu noodles.

Thank you very much!

Truong Son

 

 

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