Bang Phuc Yeast Wine is a traditional product of the people of Bang Phuc Township, Cho Don District, Bac Kan Province. Picture: Math Nguyen.
Bang Phuc yeast wine is recognized as the OCOP product of Bang Phuc Township, Cho Don District, which has been famous across the country for many years.
However, until now products have been marketed mainly in small retail forms in plastic jars. Since 2016, some companies have been interested in the production of glass bottles with beautiful designs and complete labels.
Currently, consumers in the market are very fond of Bang Phuc Leaf Yeast Wine as this product has a delicious taste made from natural yeast and uses absolutely no chemicals and flavors like other alcohol products available in the market today.
Therefore, ensuring exports to foreign markets, especially Japan, with strict food safety and hygiene standards has confirmed the quality of this craft wine.
Recently, Thanh Tam Cooperative, Bang Phuc Commune (Cho Don) signed an agreement and handed over a batch of traditional yeast wine to Komeco.Ltd’s sales agent for export to Japan. The first export shipment has a quantity of more than 8,000 bottles to ensure the quality and design according to the partners’ requirements.
Previously, the export partner came to Thanh Tam Cooperative to appraise, taste and test the wine tasting and was recognized to ensure the quality for export to the Japanese market.
Thanh Tam Cooperative signed a product sales agreement with a partner to export yeast wine to Japan. Picture: Ngoc Tu.
Bang Phuc Municipality has a cool climate and clean water, which is an important factor in the production of the famous traditional yeast wine.
The winemaking craft has existed here for many generations, in the past the product was only sold in the province, but today it is available in many provinces and cities of the region. This is the first time that Bang Phuc traditional yeast wine has been exported abroad.
At present, Bang Phuc Municipality’s yeast wine production is more than 6,000 liters/day, and the income from wine production and related services is about VND 60 billion/year. In particular, the Thanh Tam cooperative, which offers export products, currently has 24 members and links production to 11 local ethnic minority households.
The cooperative’s yeast wine product has been awarded a 3-star provincial OCOP certificate. On average, the unit produces and sells 10,000 liters of yeast wine on the market every month.
Ms. Nong Thi Tam, director of Thanh Tam cooperative, said that previously small-scale production, which was mainly sold locally, started to expand from 2018 and seek partners. So far, the cooperative’s products have met export standards, exporting to Japan will help the cooperative further expand production and improve the lives of its members.
Transportation of products on trucks for export to Japan. Picture: Ngoc Tu.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Hao, representative of Komeco.Ltd in Vietnam, Bang Phuc leaf wine has great export potential, the product has good quality, ensures hygiene and safety and is available in large quantities. In the near future, the company will support more packaging and bottle designs for the long-term export of this product.
Vice Chairwoman of Bac Kan Provincial People’s Committee Ms. Do Thi Minh Hoa assessed that the export of wine made from Bang Phuc leaves is a great advance in the province’s agricultural production and processing of agricultural products.
The Japanese market has very high requirements for product quality, so meeting these requirements is a great success for people in mountainous areas. In the coming period, the province will continue to support cooperatives to develop a number of potential endemic agricultural products to continue exporting to other markets.
Bang Phuc traditional yeast wine exported to the Japanese market has demonstrated its ability to produce high-quality products and ensure strict standards for mountain cooperative exports.