Phu Quoc elevates OCOP products to ‘cultural ambassadors’

Phu Quoc Pearl Island has long positioned its brand as an island tourism paradise. However, in its vision of sustainable socio-economic development, Phu Quoc is building an economic ecosystem of “Tourism – Commerce – Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries”; in which, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program standardizes local essences, turning traditional specialties into “cultural ambassadors” reaching the international stage, VietnamPlus Newspaper reported.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Phu Quoc Special Zone, the Pearl Island currently has 68 OCOP products achieving 3 stars or higher. This is the result of a strong transition from selling raw products to deep processing and modern packaging.

Mr. Huynh Van Dinh – Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Phu Quoc Special Zone – shared that the locality has many advantages for developing OCOP products, possessing distinctive raw materials, long-standing traditional crafts, and tourism-linked advantages. Instead of just selling peppercorns or fresh anchovies, enterprises have applied high technology to increase value. Specifically for pepper, many planting areas have switched to automatic drip irrigation systems and applied organic fertilizers meeting GlobalGAP and VietGAP standards.

For traditional fish sauce products, barrel houses like Khai Hoan and Thanh Quoc have applied HACCP and ISO quality management systems and invested in pure filtration equipment. Ms. Ho Kim Lien, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Khai Hoan, stated that the enterprise has 43-40-38N products achieving 5-star OCOP. The OCOP program is a transparent database, affirming the quality and value, as well as the culinary culture, of a product with hundreds of years of history.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh, Director of Thanh Quoc Company, stated that the enterprise prioritizes quality above all, paying special attention to environmental protection and investing in waste treatment systems. Additionally, consumers particularly favor the salted mackerel steeped in pure fish sauce product by Mr. Nguyen Huynh Anh Khoa thanks to its strict production process, soaked in pure fish sauce for 2-3 months to create a sweet and rich aftertaste.

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Phu Quoc Special Zone, Nguyen Le Quoc Toan, emphasized that one of Phu Quoc’s strategic directions is to integrate OCOP products into the tourism supply chain. Tourists visiting the Pearl Island can now tour fish sauce barrel houses, pick wild sim berries, or harvest pepper.

Phu Quoc supports enterprises in bringing their products to display points at the airport, night markets, large supermarkets like King Kong Mart and Long Beach Mart, and high-end resorts. Besides, to penetrate demanding markets like Europe, the US, and Japan, Phu Quoc is accelerating process standardization and digital transformation. Products are invested with modern packaging integrated with QR codes. Currently, many OCOP products have proactively entered e-commerce platforms like Shopee, TikTok, and Lazada.

The Pearl Island continues to focus on improving the quality of existing products, supporting enterprises to invest in methodical environmental treatment systems, and prioritizing the use of biodegradable packaging. The combination of traditional craft village honor and modern business thinking is helping Phu Quoc specialties step confidently out into the world, building a sustainable and prosperous island economic ecosystem.