In Cao Bang, a mountainous province in Vietnam's far north, dong vermicelli called "mien dong" made by the Tan Viet A cooperative is on shelves in the United States. First shipped at 4 tonnes in January 2025, this product was the first OCOP-certified item from Cao Bang province to reach the US market. For Japanese food buyers looking to broaden raw-material sourcing into Southeast Asia, the fact that processed goods meeting export standards are starting to grow even in a remote, inland province is reason to redraw the sourcing shortlist.
As of August 2026, Cao Bang province's OCOP-certified items had grown to 188. We read this province, which borders China and has little flatland, as it shifts from primary sales of raw materials toward "processing and shipping out," with Tan Viet A as the anchor.
Tan Viet A's 4 tonnes of vermicelli reached the US in January 2025
Tan Viet A is an agricultural cooperative based in Minh Tam commune, Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province, that began making vermicelli in 2017. Its brand-named mien dong was upgraded to OCOP 3-star in 2020 and 4-star in 2023, and that quality level laid the groundwork for passing US food-safety requirements.
The first shipment was 4 tonnes in January 2025. Exports go through a trading company based in Ho Chi Minh City, and under the contract the volume moves within a cap of up to 4 tonnes per month. Rather than the cooperative selling directly overseas, a southern trading company handles the export logistics—a structure that shows a realistic route by which small-scale producers in a remote province can reach abroad. When Japanese importers come into contact with processed goods from Cao Bang, the first point of contact is likely to be such an urban trader rather than the cooperative in the production area.
The raw material is not kudzu but dong rieng; a starch noodle made from the rhizome of canna
Mien dong is sometimes introduced in Japan as "kuzukiri" or "kudzu vermicelli," but the raw material is not kudzu. It uses starch extracted from the rhizome of edible canna (Canna edulis), called dong rieng in Vietnamese. This rhizome grows even on mountain slopes and can be harvested on land unsuited to lowland rice farming. For a province like Cao Bang, where terraced fields and mountain forest take up most of the land, dong rieng is one of the few crops that can turn limited farmland into cash income.
The starch is dissolved in water, heated and shaped, then dried into thin noodles. The finished product is translucent, holds up well without falling apart when boiled, and is used in hot pots, soups and dressed dishes. Because the raw material is a single ingredient and keeps well, it also suits exports over long transport distances. The point that the production area does not simply sell its dong rieng raw material to other provinces but handles the whole process through to the final noodle form is a design that leaves added value in the land. From our experience handling dried vegetables in Kyoto, yields from rhizome and tuber starches vary greatly with how moisture control and the drying process are fine-tuned. The fact that a single-ingredient dried noodle passed export standards reads as evidence that the cooperative can standardize this process on its own.
Cao Bang province has 188 OCOP items, with only 10 at 4-star
Placing Tan Viet A's vermicelli within the province's overall production strength clarifies its position. As of August 2026, Cao Bang province had 188 OCOP-certified items. The breakdown is 10 at 4-star and 178 at 3-star, so the top grades are confined to a small portion. By category, the composition is 168 food items, 7 beverages, and the rest handicrafts.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total OCOP-certified items in Cao Bang province (August 2026) | 188 items |
| of which four-star | 10 items |
| of which three-star | 178 items |
| Breakdown of food / beverages | 168 food items, 7 beverages |
| Tan Viet A's first shipment to the US (January 2025) | 4 tonnes |
| Supply cap under the export contract | Up to 4 tonnes per month |
| Additional certification target for 2026 | 60 items (of which 2 at 4-star) |
Source: Nong nghiep va Moi truong (August 24, 2026), Nhan Dan. Figures are based on the original wording.
What these figures tell the procurement side is the reality that the grades within Cao Bang's output capable of withstanding export overseas are still thin. The small base of 10 items at 4-star means the options for assembling supply are limited. The province has set a goal of 60 additional certifications in 2026, of which it aims to newly raise 2 items to 4-star. Whether the top-grade tier thickens will be the dividing line for whether this province can be counted on as an ongoing sourcing destination. The practice of using OCOP star counts as a yardstick for selecting production areas OCOP exhibition in Ninh Binh province and the move by Co.opmart to stock local OCOP products by star count confirms the same structure as well.
Export candidates Cao Bang holds besides dong rieng
Vermicelli is not Cao Bang's only card. Within the province are Trung Khanh district chestnuts, Thach An's thach den (black grass jelly), heirloom glutinous rice such as nep Ong and nep Huong, honey, taro, tea, banh khao, lap xuong (sausage) and more. Many are centered on domestic distribution, and only a portion that has standardized its process, like the vermicelli, has reached export.
In the same Cao Bang, the building of an emerging macadamia production area is also underway. As Cao Bang province took its first step toward building a production base for macadamia, the "queen of nuts," examples of mountainous provinces turning from primary products toward processing and branding are increasing. From a production area that ships out cheap raw materials and stops there, to one that earns from finished products—Tan Viet A's vermicelli is one product that showed first that this shift can happen even on the frontier.
How Japanese food buyers can incorporate Cao Bang produce
What to grasp at the point of contact with the Japanese market is the supply-and-demand structure of the vermicelli category. The vermicelli Japan imports is mainly Chinese and Thai product made from mung bean, potato and tapioca, and canna-starch noodles have small distribution volume. Mien dong is a specialty raw material that fits this gap, and does not suit general-purpose sourcing that chases volume. Even from the scale of the US contract cap of up to 4 tonnes per month, it reads as a product that does not assume constant bulk supply.
Rather, what works on the Japanese side is the context of specialty distribution that can sell on the production area's story and food-safety track record. The two passed hurdles of OCOP 4-star and US export serve as talking points in the first-stage screening at import. At the same time, since it is a Ho Chi Minh trader who handles the export logistics, what Japanese buyers should confirm is not only the cooperative's production capacity but the volume stability, documentation handling and traceability that the trading company guarantees. For an arrangement that continuously imports small volumes as an ethnic ingredient or a health-conscious dried noodle, Cao Bang vermicelli is a realistic candidate. The trend of OCOP star-rated processed goods crossing the sea the case of An Giang province's palm sugar and fish sauce reaching Australia at 5-star overlaps here too, and a procedure of bundling a production area's grade and export track record to judge whether to source is taking shape.
Points to check when viewing it as a sourcing destination
- Supply scale: The US contract is up to 4 tonnes per month. Assume the volume that can be allocated to Japan is even more limited, and treat it as suited to small-volume, specialty distribution.
- Contact person: Export logistics go through a Ho Chi Minh trader. It is not direct trade with the cooperative, so confirm the trading company's documentation capability and volume guarantee.
- Verifying the grade: OCOP 4-star was certified in 2023. Because stars are subject to renewal, always cross-check the current validity and food-safety documents against the actual item.
- Raw-material labeling: It is dong rieng (edible canna) starch, not kudzu. Take care not to mistranslate the packaging or ingredient labeling.
- Depth of the production area: Cao Bang province has only 10 items at 4-star. Sourcing that bundles multiple items from this province is difficult to arrange at present.
Tan Viet A's 4 tonnes is not a figure that moves the market by volume. Even so, the single point that a border province with scarce flatland passed US standards with a dried noodle from rhizome starch serves as a marker for gauging how far Vietnam's supply side has expanded. The next move for Japanese food buyers is to track how far this province's 4-star items grow from 10, while securing in advance shelf space in specialty distribution that can handle the production area's story even in small volumes.
