Mekong Delta farmers promote ST25 rice, sweet passion fruit at HCMC show

Farmers from Soc Trang are promoting a range of specialties and OCOP (One Commune One Product) products from the Mekong Delta province in Ho Chi Minh City.

They hope to introduce to local consumers and distribution systems the specialties, including ST25 rice, pia cake, Vinh Chau purple onion and sweet passion fruit.

The “Week of Displaying, Introducing, and Promoting Agricultural Products, Specialties and OCOP Products from Soc Trang” is being held October 9-13 at the Export Showroom, 92-96 Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, HCMC.

The event is being organized by the province’s Department of Industry and Trade in coordination with the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCMC (ITPC).

Nguyen Huu Cong, a farmer from the province’s Phu Long district brought a unique type of passion fruit to share with consumers. Unlike typical sour varieties, the passion fruit from Cong's garden is sweet and can be enjoyed fresh as a dessert or used in drinks. This is an OCOP product from the province.

Hua Truong Son, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Soc Trang province, noted that more than 30 enterprises, cooperatives and business households are participating in the promotional event with around 80 specialties including typical products and OCOP offerings.

The initiative aims to support local enterprises, cooperatives, and production facilities in promoting their agricultural products that meet export standards. The products are certified as typical rural industrial products and key offerings of Soc Trang, making it easier to connect them with distributors and businesses in HCMC, Son said.

Tran Phu Lu, director of ITPC, emphasized that the city has been actively collaborating with regional partners to highlight the potential and strengths of Mekong Delta provinces. This cooperation aims to expand development opportunities for both the city and the Mekong Delta region, he said.

Lu added that the socio-economic development cooperation program between HCMC and the Mekong Delta provinces has yielded positive results in recent years.

Since the beginning of the year, numerous networking events, such as the HCMC International Food Industry Exhibition, the Vietnam-Australia Investment and Trade Promotion Conference and the Cambodia-Vietnam Investment Promotion Conference, have been held on a large scale.

The goal of these initiatives is to support product consumption and connect local suppliers with supermarkets and distribution businesses.