Since the beginning of the year, 4 district-level units (old) have organized product evaluation and classification with 18 products of 10 entities, bringing the total to date. Ca Mau province has 357 OCOP products (2 5-star products, 76 4-star products, 279 3-star products) of 172 entities.
The old Ca Mau province has 192 products, including 47 4-star products and 145 3-star products; Bac Lieu province has 165 products, including 2 5-star products and 29 4-star products and 134 3-star products. Both 5-star products are products originating from salt. Meanwhile, the strength of shrimp and crab in Ca Mau has not yet reached 5 stars.
Shrimp and crab have long been a prominent strength of Ca Mau province, the province's dried shrimp and fresh crab products are very famous and favored by the market. The old Bac Lieu province, before being merged, also had this strength. Now with an area of about 450,000 hectares of shrimp farming, most of which is intercropped with crab, Ca Mau province has the potential to apply 5-star OCOP standards for shrimp and crab products.
Currently, Ca Mau has many OCOP products and products processed from shrimp and crab that have affirmed their position in the market, some of which still have export potential. However, the fact that no product has reached 5 national stars shows that there are still issues that need attention in raising the bar, building, creating brand value and finding outlets for key agricultural products, typical of the province.
Effectively exploiting the potential of shrimp and crab to create 5-star OCOP products not only helps increase economic value but also contributes to affirming the brand of Ca Mau agricultural products in the domestic and international markets.
Meanwhile, many shrimp and crab products in Ca Mau meet 2 to 3 star standards. Almost all of these coastal communes also have 5 to 15 products. So much so that buyers do not know where to choose. For example, OCOP products for shrimp cake have up to 20, dried shrimp more 20, shrimp paste more than 10... This creates direct competition within the subjects in terms of brand. Many products and few strong brands are alarming for OCOP products in Ca Mau.
Seeing this, according to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau province, in the coming time, it will support Cooperatives and craft villages to develop OCOP products; develop OCOP products associated with raw material areas associated with local key products, specialties, value chains and processing; introduce fairs, exhibitions, and trade connections between provincial enterprises and international enterprises to promote trade and expand the market for OCOP products.
Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su shared that in the coming time, the province's OCOP Program will focus on promoting the development of electronic production logs, traceability, issuance of codes for growing and farming areas, digital transformation, promoting the development of e-commerce, bringing OCOP Ca Mau products to domestic and international localities. Only then will OCOP products reach consumers more conveniently and develop more strongly.
