Lack of labor is one of the barriers for trade villages

Ba Ba Hoi Chung Cake is a typical rural industrial product of Quang Nam Province

Every year, the Quang Nam Center for Industrial Promotion - Trade Promotion and Border Management selects typical rural industrial products at the provincial level, with 20 products winning prizes. They also participate in the wider selection of typical rural industrial products in the central region of the Central Highlands and on the national level. Five of these products win regional awards, and one wins national awards.

Dinh Van Phuc, director of the Quang Nam Center for Industrial Promotion - Trade Promotion and Border Management, said Quang Nam Province is very interested in developing handicraft enterprises and rural industrial products. In recent times, the Quang Nam Department of Industry and Trade and the center have created the most favorable conditions for career development and vocational training.

The center has surveyed facilities with outdated production equipment, taking advantage of funding from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the provincial budget to facilitate the application of advanced equipment and the transfer of demonstration models in production. The center has also promoted cooperation with professional units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to organize training, seminars on marketing and introduce the arts of selling goods in order to promote business skills.

The Yen Sao Dat Quang Company was one of the three recognized for their typical rural industrial products at the provincial level for its special swallow nests. Company director Tran Huu Long said the unique product is made of natural stone materials, benefitted from support by the Quang Nam Department of Industry and Trade in guiding product quality registration and preserving equipment and machinery in production.

The Ba Ba Hoi Chung Cake Facility was also recognized for its typical rural industrial product. Facility owner Huynh Thi Thu Thuy said she had received support from the provincial center to promote her products and although the facility was established less than a year ago, its products have been exported to 57 provinces and cities nationwide. Most of these provinces and cities have agents to sell their products, she said. Each month, the establishment achieves turnover of VND100-150 million. Thuy said the facility focuses on designing models, improving product quality and launching new products in the market, such as sticky rice cakes, which have been well received by domestic markets.

Despite the many positive results, Phuc also pointed to trade village facilities’ difficulty in obtaining and applying machinery and other equipment. In particular, most village establishments are still small.