Traditional craft villages in Quang Ngai step up production to meet rising demand

Craft villages in the central province of Quang Ngai are speeding up production to meet market demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival which falls on early February this year.

Traditional craft villages in Quang Ngai step up production to meet rising demand -0
Quang Ngai’s OCOP goods are in high demand before Tet (Photo: VNA)

Families in Tri Binh village in Binh Son district began making traditional sesame cakes in the middle of December. 

According to Vo Thi Kim Hoanh, she only makes around 2,000 cakes on normal days, but increases it to 5,000 as Tet approaches.

Making the cakes requires skill and meticulousness and involves many stages starting with grinding the rice, she said, adding that the most critical stage is drying them and coating them with caramel.

At Tam Bao baked green bean cake production facility in Quang Ngai city, the owner needs workers to work overtime to complete orders.

After being recognised as a 3-star OCOP product, its orders have increased, and now it produces over 300kg of cake, triple the normal rate. 

The cakes used to be made completely by hand, but later on modern machinery and equipment such as dryers, dough beaters and cake moulds are used to speed up the work and also improve hygiene and quality.

But some steps remain manual, and so the facility hires seven workers on a full-time basis.

Tet is an opportunity for them to earn extra incomes because of a jump in demand.

Bui Thi Yen Loan said she usually works as a farmer, but near Tet she works in local sesame cake factories to earn some extra money.

Customers are more interested in traditional cakes and candied products during Tet, especially Quang Ngai’s OCOP, thanks to its eye-catching designs. Each product has a barcode and QR code for traceability.

Nguyen Tien Hung in Quang Ngai city said since OCOP items have clear origins and reliable quality, he often buys them to gift business partners and employees during Tết.

Quang Ngai has around 5,500 rural facilities making agricultural products, and many are rated three- and four- star OCOP items and have seen improvements in design, quality and distribution.

According to Truong Thi Thu Huong, Director of Quang Tin Specialty Joint Stock Company, the company started promoting its products, designs and gift baskets on social media, sales channels and e-commerce platforms a few months ago in preparation for Lunar New Year. 

The company also launched new high-quality products for customers looking for diet foodstuffs at reasonable prices.

Economy

Da Nang strengthens cooperative ties with Thai localities
Economy

Da Nang strengthens cooperative ties with Thai localities

Vice Chairwoman of the People's Committee of the central city of Da Nang Nguyen Thi Anh Thi on September 26 hosted a Thai delegation led by Thai Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Wiraka Moodhitaporn, and Khon Kaen Deputy Governor Siriwat Pinijpanich, who are in the city to attend the "Meet Thailand in Da Nang" conference.

UN Special Rapporteur highly values Vietnam's progress
Economy

UN Special Rapporteur highly values Vietnam's progress

United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the right to development Surya Deva had a dialogue in Geneva on September 18 with countries on his activities over the past year, during which he highly valued the Vietnamese Government's multidimensional poverty reduction approach.

Australian plums to be available in Vietnam
Economy

Australian plums to be available in Vietnam

Australian plums will soon be on shelves in Vietnam under the two-way agricultural market access agreement between the two countries that brings Australian plums to Vietnam and Vietnamese passion fruit to Australia, according to the Australian Government.

Vinamarine prohibits profiteering in emergency situations
Economy

Vinamarine prohibits profiteering in emergency situations

The Vietnam Maritime Administration (Vinamarine) under the Ministry of Transport strictly prohibits all acts of taking advantage of emergency situations, storms and floods to raise service prices inconsistent with fluctuations in total costs compared to normal conditions for profiteering.