Hanoi will speed up the evaluation and ranking process at the district level in November and then evaluate the potential four- and five-star products at the city level in December.

The city aims to certify 400 products under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program in 2023, according to the Hanoi Coordination Office of the New Rural Construct Program.

However, districts and cities have evaluated and classified 559 products, including 138 that need re-evaluation because the deadline has passed. Sixteen districts and cities have evaluated 313 products, including 268 three-star products and 45 potential four-star products.

Delegates attend the conference to evaluate and rank the OCOP products for 2023 in the district. Photo: The Hanoi Times

In late October, Hoan Kiem District's OCOP Product Classification and Evaluation Council held a conference to evaluate and rank the district's OCOP products for 2023.

The evaluation was conducted for 18 products, mainly processed food such as sausages, mushroom spring rolls and mushroom floss, produced by Hanoi-based food supplier Gio Cha Uoc Le Thuy Hung and Ideal Foods Vietnam Two-Member Co., Ltd.

Deputy Chairman of the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee and Chairman of the District Council, Le Anh Thu, said the district is always looking for products with unique characteristics and advantages to support their participation in OCOP, thereby increasing the value and competitiveness of the products in the market.

To implement the OCOP program, since the beginning of the year, the district's departments, agencies and sectors, as well as the People's Committees of the wards, have been carrying out the examination, compilation of statistics, propaganda and guidance for enterprises with registered products to participate in the OCOP Program.

Similarly, Me Linh District also completed the evaluation and ranking of OCOP for 30 products from 11 enterprises. Nguyen Trong Phan, head of Me Linh District's Economic Department, said that the products participating in OCOP this year are the local advantageous products. Among them, there are 12 products in the ornamental plants and flowers group, 11 in the food group, one in the beverage group, and six in the handicrafts group.

"The classified products this year have improved quality, complied with legal procedures, and have complete packaging and labeling," he said.

Tran Thi Van Anh, director of Song Da Kinh Bac JSC, which is currently advising businesses in 21 districts and cities to develop OCOP products, said there are more processed and deeply processed products with high economic value. Meanwhile, in previous years, the submissions were mainly for many raw products.

New points in OCOP product ranking

Ngo Van Ngon, Deputy Head of the Hanoi Coordination Office of the New Rural Construction Program, said that in 2023, the evaluation of OCOP products in districts and towns showed that there were no potential five-star products, and the number of potential four-star products was also lower compared to previous years.

Products of Hanoi-based Gio Cha Uoc Le Thuy Hung food supplier.

The stricter requirements of the new criteria and rules for evaluating and ranking OCOP products are designed to enhance the role and value of the community, highlight product distinctiveness through storytelling, and raise standards and regulations, he explained.

The city government has tasked district-level people's committees with evaluating and recognizing three-star OCOP products, Ngon said.

He added that provincial-level People's Committees are responsible for evaluating and recognizing four-star OCOP products. At the same time, the central level is responsible for evaluating and recognizing five-star OCOP products (national-level OCOP).

"This helps strengthen the role, responsibility and proactivity of district-level authorities in supporting product development, organizing inspections and monitoring OCOP products while reducing the workload of the city-level Evaluation and Ranking Council," Ngon stressed.

During the evaluation, Hoan Kiem District recognized 13 out of 15 products that met OCOP's three-star criteria and five out of 13 products that met the four-star criteria, which the city government will review.

Me Linh District recognized 28 products with a three-star quality rating and one potential four-star product. The district will finalize the documentation for submission to the city People's Committee for approval.