Quintessence of Vietnamese agricultural products: Bac Kan vermicelli

The pride of Bac Kan province

Tai Hoan vermicelli is a product of Tai Hoan Cooperative, located in Che Co village, Con Minh commune, Na Ri district, Bac Kan province. This cooperative's vermicelli is a traditional product since 1965, produced manually with a small scale and modest output. Tai Hoan Cooperative was established with 14 members by 2018, with the goal of improving the quality of vermicelli and expanding the market.

Tai Hoan Cooperative's products have participated in the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program and have been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product since 2018. And by 2021, the product has been recognized as a national 5-star OCOP product, the only product and the pride of Bac Kan province.

The current vermicelli products of Tai Hoan Cooperative have beautiful packaging with striking labels, containing full information according to regulations, the product has also been tested for food safety with no additives and preservative. Tai Hoan cooperative currently produces vermicelli with an output of over 200 tons/year, widely consumed throughout the country.

Ms. Do Thi Minh Hoa, Vice Chairman of Bac Kan Provincial People's Committee, said that the "One commune, one product" program has brought initial successes, with OCOP products recognized by the market. Tai Hoan vermicelli product by Tai Hoan Cooperative in particular has been recognized by the National OCOP Council as a 5-star OCOP product and became the first product of Bac Kan province to achieve such title. The product is not only favoured by domestic consumers, but it has also been exported to the European market. This is the premise for Bac Kan province to develop other endemic products as commodity with high quality.

Based on the initial results, Tai Hoan cooperative is currently investing in a new factory with an area of 6,000m2, equipped with a modern production line system with an investment value of 8 billion VND. After going into operation, it will produce 2 tons of vermicelli daily (currently it produces 6 quintals of vermicelli daily), 800 tons of vermicelli annually. As a result, the number of consumption households increases by 1.5 times, equivalent to nearly 500 households with an area of ​​70ha, an output of 4,200 - 4,500 tons of tubers annually.

Conquering the fastidious EU market

The leaders of Bac Kan province have been very active in recent years in promoting the provincial specialty agricultural products in the country and internationally. Thanks to these trade promotions, Tai Hoan vermicelli brand has met the requirements of design, quality, and is loved by consumers.Foreign businesses have since promoted the import of vermicelli products to the EU market.

After sampling multiple times to check for residues of pesticides, toxic substances at the Institute of Chemistry (Czech Republic), Tai Hoan vermicelli ensures product quality and safety for consumers, so the product is accepted for exports to the Czech market as well as the most fastidious market in the world and the EU. The first container of vermicelli products from Tai Hoan cooperative has been successfully exported since 2020. Although the import, export activities in the world are currently heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the cooperative is still developing sustainably.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoan, Director of Tai Hoan Cooperative shared: “Exporting this order is a 1-year journey of efforts. The cooperative has repeatedly sent samples to test for product quality, finish packaging, import and export procedures. Tai Hoan vermicelli products exported to the Czech Republic are rigorously tested for quality, they must also be transparent about the source of raw materials throughout the production process, we are very confident about this."

Ms. Hoan added: "The current source of raw materials is grown in 5 communes in Na Ri district, the cooperative signs off on product consumption for 360 ethnic minority households, with a total arrowroot area of ​​about 50 hectare, yielding nearly 3,400 tons of tubers. I hope that Tai Hoan vermicelli products will be more widely consumed in the country and in the international market. This not only helps the production cooperative to develop stably, but it also creates stable jobs and improves the livelihood of farmers.

Constantly striving to develop

As Ms. Hoan shared, to reach where it is today, Tai Hoan Cooperative has actively participated ever since the OCOP Program was launched. The journey starting from 3 stars, to 4 stars and now 5 stars requires the cooperative to improve production methods and product quality gradually. The advanced quality management, food safety, traceability, packaging and labels, environmental factors of production, improving knowledge of trade promotion, sales, etc. are all paid special care to meet the needs of the market. As a result of their efforts, Tai Hoan vermicelli products ensure the standard of supply for trade centers, agricultural supply chains, participation in e-commerce platforms, selling on social networks and so on.

Tai Hoan vermicelli products have been consumed throughout the country (wholesale markets, Big C supermarkets throughout the North, businesses, agricultural supply chains, retail chains) and exported to foreign markets. The following year's consumption volume consequently increased, namely in 2019 it increased by 200% compared to 2018 (output increased from 100 tons to 200 tons).

Tai Hoan cooperative has actively signed contracts from a stable source of customers and marketsfor the consumption of arrowroot tubers with households in Na Ri district to actively manage the source of input materials for production. This cooperated is evaluated by the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Bac Kan province, Na Ri district as strictly implementing the contract with the arrowroot growing households in terms of quantity, price when purchasing products from farmers. This has also contributed to increasing the value chain of arrowroot products in Bac Kan province, as well as create jobs and improve income for thousands of ethnic minority people.

Through the signing of contracts to consume raw materials for farmers in the region, Tai Hoan cooperative has gradually formed a value chain from the planning stage to production practice, in association with processing and consumption of products. The signing of raw material consumption has boosted production, contributed to bringing production support programs and projects to farmers in the raw material areas of the cooperative.

During the development process, Tai Hoan cooperative has promoted the processing of vermicelli in the direction of commodities, gradually invest in modern technology in production along with environmental protection factors, focusing on quality, improve capacity on business administration, trade promotion, etc., so that the cooperative can promote its internal resources and develop even further.

Tai Hoan vermicelli has specific characteristics are widely known as vermicelli made of 100% powder from arrowroot tubers, yielding vermicelli with unique characteristics that are not found anywhere else, that is, a natural silver glow. When prepared, the vermicelli is not crushed even if it is overheated, it is always crunchy with a natural delicious taste.

Vermicelli is made from starch but it is cool, high in fiber, does not contain any fat, low in calories, high in protein, low in sugar, no cholesterol, suitable for people with diabetes, heart disease, obesity. Therefore, this is a great product for people who want to lose weight or maintain their current weight.