Enhancing agricultural product brands

After the merger, Thai Nguyen affirmed its great agricultural potential in the Northern midland and mountainous region, with typical products such as: Tea, rice, squash, custard apple... These products are oriented to standardize and build brands, contributing to increasing value and expanding the market.

Farmers in Pac Phai village, Ba Be commune, visit the organic rice growing model.

The power of two agricultural "capitals"

With the expanded production land fund after the merger, Thai Nguyen has favorable conditions to restructure towards modernity and professionalism. Raw material areas are planned synchronously, competitive enough in the most demanding markets.

Tea trees are a clear demonstration of the province's orientation for developing specialty agriculture . The province currently has nearly 24,000 hectares of tea, of which nearly 23,000 hectares are being harvested. Thai Nguyen has planned four key production areas in Tan Cuong, Dong Hy, La Bang and Vo Tranh; at the same time, preserving and developing Shan Tuyet tea areas in Dong Phuc and Yen Binh. With more than 200 OCOP products from 3 to 5 stars, the Thai Nguyen tea brand is increasingly affirmed in the market.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Son, Director of Viet Thai Tea Joint Stock Company (Phuc Thuan Ward), said that the company is growing nearly 5 hectares of raw tea and has cooperated with households to produce more than 20 hectares. On average, the company exports about 6 tons of tea per month, of which 4 products have been certified with 3-4 star OCOP. This activity helps the company develop stably and at the same time creates jobs for local workers.

Fragrant green squash is a famous specialty plant, endemic to Thuong Minh commune, Ba Be. This product has achieved 4-star OCOP certification.

Along with the tea area, the vegetable area of ​​Thai Nguyen also has many improvements: the area meeting VietGAP increased from 150ha to 200ha; 70ha applied greenhouses, automatic irrigation, off-season production, increased land use coefficient. Fruit trees met VietGAP 1,039ha (increased by more than 25%), organic 10ha, including many large-scale specialty areas such as: custard apple, longan, grapefruit...

The "endemic" crops in the North of Thai Nguyen such as: oranges, tangerines, seedless persimmons, fragrant green squash, and arrowroot... are all planned and new techniques are applied to increase their value.

Apricot trees currently cover an area of ​​104 hectares, of which 10 hectares meet safety standards and 20 hectares meet VietGAP certification. The entire area has been linked to consumption by businesses and cooperatives such as Vietnam MISAKI Co., Ltd., Cao Ky Cooperative, etc. Local apricot products have been exported to the Japanese market.

Ms. Trinh Thi Thu, Director of Doan Ket Cooperative, Tan Ky Commune, said: Previously, apricot trees were the main crop, bringing high economic efficiency. From that potential, the Cooperative has linked production on over 20 hectares, at the same time supporting people to intensively cultivate and renovate apricot gardens, contributing to increasing output and product value.

Sustainable development of specialty agriculture

The custard apple area is numbered for its high economic value.

As production scales expand and become more synchronized, the application of high technology and digital transformation in agriculture becomes more convenient. Currently, more than 7,000 hectares of tea have used water-saving irrigation systems, which both reduce costs and maintain productivity, while effectively adapting to climate change.

Many rice and fruit tree areas also apply new varieties, automatic water and nutrient management, thereby improving product quality and uniformity.

The highlight is the project to digitize agricultural products, starting with the “Digital custard apple tree” model in Vo Nhai. Each custard apple tree is attached with a QR code and a 24/7 surveillance camera, allowing customers to monitor the entire process from flowering to harvesting. This approach not only makes the production process transparent but also contributes to building a digital brand, expanding consumption through online channels and exports.

Many key products have reached international markets. Thai Nguyen tea is now available in Europe, the US, and the Middle East; organic vermicelli and aromatic green squash products have entered supermarket systems and e-commerce platforms, opening up opportunities to directly reach global consumers.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ba, Director of Viet Cuong Vermicelli Cooperative, Dong Hy Commune, said: The cooperative has successfully connected to export products to Taiwan, China, Norway and Germany, and is present in many large supermarket systems in the country.

From small-scale production, Thai Nguyen has formed concentrated raw material areas with many types of crops such as tea, turmeric, arrowroot, rice, fruit trees, and vegetables. In the coming time, the province will orient the development of specialty agriculture in a green, smart, and sustainable direction; focusing on completing the planning of raw material areas meeting VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and organic standards, associated with key products such as tea, specialty rice, fragrant green squash, arrowroot, and endemic fruit trees.

Mr. Nguyen My Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Thai Nguyen province, said: The province aims to have the total value of tea products reach 25,000 billion VND by 2030. Along with that, Thai Nguyen continues to develop other strong crops such as oranges, tangerines, seedless persimmons, chestnuts and specialty rice varieties Khau nua lech Ngan Son and Nep Tai Ba Be in the northern region, in order to effectively exploit agricultural potential.

The province also determined to promote value chain linkages between farmers, cooperatives and enterprises to stabilize output, build agricultural product brands with international certification, and enhance competitiveness. The development of the "digital agricultural product" model opens up new opportunities for export and online consumption. At the same time, it focuses on deep processing and product diversification to increase value, reduce dependence on fresh consumption, and expand the market according to the strategy of "one product, many segments", targeting even demanding markets such as the EU, the US, and Japan.

When raw material areas are expanded, products are standardized and branded, added value will be increasingly enhanced. With the strategy of “one product – many markets”, along with the application of high technology and digital transformation, Thai Nguyen specialty agriculture both preserves regional identity and affirms its position in the international market.

Thai Nguyen's typical agriculture

• Total typical agricultural production area: 106,300ha
• Nearly 7,300 hectares meet VietGAP/organic standards
• 62 growing area codes (25 for export, 37 for domestic consumption)
• 23,717 hectares of tea worth 14,800 billion VND/year
• 45,700 hectares of specialty rice yield 370,600 tons of rice/year
• 190 hectares of fragrant green squash yielding 7,000 tons/year

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202509/nang-tam-thuong-hieu-nong-san-9730d6c/