Too many OCOP products in Vietnam cause brand confusion

A batch of grape-derived OCOP products in Ninh Thuận Province. OCOP products have grown to a so large number that consumers sometimes cannot tell them apart. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành

HANOI: Products in the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Programme have grown in number over the past few years, but so quickly that it has led to brand confusion among customers.

Nguyen Trong Nghia, director of Saigon Asset, said the number of OCOP products in the market had reached nearly 10,000, overwhelming customers with too many options, often overlapping ones.

He took green-skin pomeloes as an example, which both Ben Tre Province and the Central Region had proclaimed as their “local speciality”.

Because the fruits are registered with two separate trademarks, customers can hardly tell the difference between them.

The director, therefore, called for a more meticulous selection process in the OCOP Programme to ensure each OCOP product is unique on its own and embodies the culture of its province of origin.

For hand-made OCOP products, he was against the idea of mass-producing them by machinery because automation, he believed, would ruin their artisanal uniqueness.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said the OCOP Programme was initiated with the aim of improving the income of local producers, kickstarting the formation of production hubs, and increasing brand awareness for local products.

He also said the panel in charge of evaluating OCOP products consists of multiple agencies, including provincial departments of agriculture and rural development. The products will undergo periodic reevaluation every three years to ensure they remain up-to-standard.

“If an OCOP product is losing its brand awareness, it is losing everything,” said Nam. He also suggested the establishment of a team to examine the status of OCOP products periodically. — Viet Nam News/ANN