More local products now enter supermarkets, thanks to OVOP

The National Committee of the Promotion of One Village, One Product (OVOP) has encouraged producers to register their products and upgrade their quality standards to meet the growing demand for local products in supermarkets.

Currently, there are about 680 items registered under the OVOP program, and the majority of them are available on the shelves of local malls and supermarkets, said Suong Noy, secretary-general of the National Committee for the Promotion of OVOP.

About 80 percent of registered items have entered the local supermarkets, Noy said yesterday.

“The growth in demand for Cambodian products reflects a high expectation that these products will become more well-known,” he said.

The committee has been encouraging members and producers to improve the quality of products to meet the demand, Noy said, adding that the OVOP program is proud of seeing products in supermarkets as part of improving production and packaging processes, especially helping farmers who are suppliers of raw materials.

OVOP has made its mark on the Cambodian landscape, empowering local communities to utilize their resources and skills to create unique products for domestic and international markets.

This innovative approach has not only contributed to the economic development of the country but has also provided a platform for the preservation and promotion of Cambodian culture and heritage.

The mechanism of the government to promote the OVOP program is to reduce poverty, migration and increase the income of people who are producers, farmers, associations, communities and service providers, he said.

“Promoting the OVOP movement is to recognize the quality of the product and find a market for the product,” he added.

Cambodia has relied on SMEs as the backbone of a sustainable economy.

The Cambodian government considers micro, small, and medium enterprises as the main foundation for national economic and social development because this sector is inter-active with flexible and adapt to technology development

Heng Sokkung, Secretary of State and spokesman at the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation,

“After the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry sees the registration of new SMEs largely in food processing because the demand for food and drinks are the common products in high demand,” Sokkung told Khmer Times.