First Mekong Delta one commune – one product fair in June

Ben Tre (VNA) – The first one commune – one product (OCOP) fair of the Mekong Delta region is scheduled for June 6 – 10 in Ben Tre province.

According to Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le Van Khe, the event is expected to feature between 300 and 350 stalls from 12 localities in the delta, as well as the southeastern, Central Highlands, northern, and central regions.

Khe said provinces and cities have so far registered 260 stalls to display local specialties, including food, beverage, herbs, fabric, souvenirs, and agricultural services.

On the sidelines, there will be conferences and seminars on OCOP building, farming tourism, and OCOP start-ups, among others.

Ngo Tat Thang, Deputy Director of the National New-Style Rural Areas Operation Department, said the expo aims to promote goods developed under the OCOP programme and experience sharing among participating localities in terms of OCOP-related production and goods development.

In 2013, Quang Ninh was the first locality in Vietnam to implement the programme, which was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, following the model of Japan’s “One Village, One Product” (OVOP) drive and Thailand’s “One Town, One Product” (OTOP).

The OCOP programme is now being carried out in all localities across Vietnam for the 2018-2020 period, aiming to promote rural economic development towards increasing internal strengths and values. It focuses on developing high potential agricultural and non-agricultural products, and services in each locality based on the value chain.

Ben Tre is striving to have 100 percent of its communes joining the programme by 2020. It sets to develop at least 30 OCOP goods rated three stars by the time; the figure is expected to be 250 a decade later.-VNA