Trade linkages help OCOP producers expand market reach

As summer trade promotion activities gather pace, a series of major trade fairs and business matching events are giving enterprises and OCOP (One Commune One Product) producers fresh opportunities to showcase their products and reach new markets.

Dong Nai's OCOP producers showcase and promote their products at the 22nd Southern Fruit Festival 2026. Photo: Hai Quan

The events are expected to help local businesses and OCOP producers in Dong Nai broaden their promotional channels while strengthening connections with potential buyers and distribution networks.

Major trade promotion events create new opportunities

In June 2026, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with the Hue Investment, Trade and Business Support Centre, organized the Hue Festival Trade Fair 2026 as part of the 2026 National Trade Promotion Program.

The fair featured 240 standard booths and attracted enterprises, cooperatives, production and business establishments and trade promotion organizations from provinces and cities nationwide, including Dong Nai City.

Nguyen Van Linh, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai City Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, said the city participated in the event with six standard booths. The center supported 20 local enterprises in showcasing more than 100 products and connecting with potential partners at the fair, with a focus on Dong Nai's signature products, outstanding rural industrial products and OCOP-certified products.

Nguyen Thi Dao, a representative of the Hang Gon Beekeeping–Trading–Service Agricultural Cooperative in Hang Gon ward, said the cooperative had recently received support to participate in several major trade promotion fairs, including the Hue Festival Trade Fair 2026.

She noted that such events enabled the cooperative to take part in business matching sessions and trade promotion conferences to seek new partners and expand its market presence. At the Hue fair, the cooperative successfully introduced its products to two clean agricultural product stores in Hue and reached several promising new markets.

The 22nd Southern Fruit Festival, themed Echoes of the alluvial river – Flow of heritage – Continuing cultural values, runs from May 31 to August 30 as one of Ho Chi Minh City's annual cultural and tourism events.

This year's festival features a wide range of activities, including a specialty fruit market under the theme "Melodies of the Fruit Harvest," where visitors can meet orchard owners and explore booths showcasing local OCOP products.

Le Kim Luon, owner of Anna Dragon Fruit Wine Production Facility in Dau Giay ward, said her business has regularly participated in trade promotion programs and has joined the Southern Fruit Festival four times.

The event provides an effective platform to introduce the facility's three-star OCOP products. This year, in addition to its dragon fruit wine, the business is unveiling a new cashew wine product while introducing redesigned packaging to attract visitors and connect with potential partners and customers.

Expanding promotion and market reach

According to the Dong Nai City Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, the center will continue to coordinate trade fairs, exhibitions, business-matching events, and buyer-seller matching programs throughout 2026.

These activities are intended to strengthen public awareness and consumer confidence in high-quality Vietnamese products through initiatives such as bringing Vietnamese goods to rural areas, border-area trade promotion programs, product showcases in industrial parks and economic zones, and support for Vietnamese goods outlets and OCOP product stores.

In parallel, the center will step up support for local enterprises participating in major domestic and international trade fairs while strengthening links with distribution systems, supermarket chains and export businesses to expand market access and increase export turnover.

Nguyen Van Linh added that the center has recently assisted local enterprises, cooperatives and OCOP producers in participating in a range of major trade promotion events, including the 35th Vietnam International Trade Fair (Vietnam Expo 2026) and the 2026 Tinh Bien-An Giang International Trade Fair.

In the coming months, the center will continue promoting Dong Nai's specialty products, OCOP products and outstanding rural industrial products through major trade promotion events both within and beyond the city. Among its upcoming activities, it will support local enterprises and cooperatives in participating in the East–West Economic Corridor (EWEC) Da Nang Fair 2026, scheduled for August.

Alongside traditional trade promotion activities, municipal departments and agencies are strengthening cooperation with relevant organizations and local authorities to help associations, cooperatives, cooperative groups, enterprises, traders, farm owners, OCOP producers and outstanding farming households access e-commerce platforms, online business matching events, virtual supply-demand conferences and livestream sales channels to improve market access.

Tran Duong Hung, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai City Department of Industry and Trade, said the department will further expand both online and in-person business-matching programs that connect manufacturers of local OCOP products with distributors, logistics providers and key opinion leaders (KOLs). At the same time, it plans to organize large-scale livestream sessions during major trade promotion events to enhance the visibility of local products and diversify sales channels.

Hung said participating in major trade fairs and exhibitions, particularly national trade promotion and industrial promotion programs, will create new opportunities for Dong Nai's signature products to expand their market presence while promoting the city's strengths in investment, trade and services.

By H Quan – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho