The first Ben Tre One Commune, One Product (OCOP) Fair in HCM City will be held at Big C An Lac supermarket in Binh Tan District from January 24.

Organised by Ben Tre Province, the Central Coordination Office on New Rural Development and the Central Group, the fair will seek to introduce and promote the province’s products and services under the framework of the national OCOP programme.

Speaking at press briefing in HCM City on January 16, Huynh Quang Duc, deputy director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the fair would have 100 booths with 120 products in six categories: food, beverages, medicinal herbs, souvenirs-decorative items, rural tourism services, and agricultural products.

The products on display would include dried fish, coconut cakes, My Long rice paper, Cho Lach District’s flowers and ornamental trees, and speciality fruits, he said.

The OCOP programme is considered an efficacious measure to promote rural economic development, serve the National Target Programmme on Rural Area Development, raise the profile of local products at the national and global level, and highlight the major roles played by farming households, co-operatives and small and medium-sized enterprises.

It was first implemented in Quang Ninh Province in 2013 and its success spurred its expansion to other cities and provinces.

Nguyen Huu Lap, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the province has some 265 OCOP products, all with VietGap or GlobalGap certification or geographical indication.

“This fair will be an opportunity for the province to directly introduce and promote its speciality products of high quality, clear origins and reasonable prices to customers in HCM City,” he said.

Ngo Tat Thang, deputy head of the Central Coordination Office on New Rural Development, said the OCOP programme mainly helps small households, co-operatives and small and medium-sized enterprises access the market.

It seeks to have 2,400 products with typical commune and village features by 2020, he added.

Phan Hai Hoa of Central Group Vietnam said Big C started selling OCOP products at Big C Ha Long since 2014, and their sales are increasing by 15 per cent a year.

To go on until January 27, the fair is expected to attract around 70,000 visitors, she said. — VNS