OCOP– tag –

Two fish sauces from Cat Hai in Hai Phong have earned OCOP five stars, bringing the province's five-star products to ten. We explain how Japanese buyers can use this national certification, which examines everything from the sourcing area and process to the story and export capability, in choosing suppliers.

Ninh Binh province held an OCOP specialty-products week from June 26 to 30. We explain how Japanese food buyers can read this regional certification system, with 60 booths and about 70 items on display, as a clue for narrowing down growing areas.

Soursop grown under coconut palms is processed into tea and jam, with up to 1,000 boxes shipped to Australia each month. We unpack the details of this small-scale, D2C-style processing, a 15 ha partnership producing 7 tonnes a month, from the perspective of Japanese dried-fruit OEM.

A processed-food maker in Da Nang is raising the unit price of produce through storytelling and gift design. A long-established fish-sauce maker now earns 30% of sales from gifts, and Me Mit Food has earned OCOP four stars. We unpack concrete measures that work for the product design of dried vegetables and OEM gifts.

Vo Tranh, the largest tea region in Thai Nguyen province (2,600 ha of tea, 17 OCOP products), has begun moving toward a unified brand while retaining the character of each village. We consider the aim of combining ethnic-minority culture with tea tourism, and the sourcing implications that Japanese tea buyers should read into it.

In an ethnic-minority village on the border of Quang Ninh province, there is a move to turn the medicinal root "dia lien" into a growing area on 10 ha and aim for OCOP certification. We unpack the practical implications of growing-area formation for Japanese importers and agricultural professionals.