KATHMANDU, July 22:
The government is introducing star rating, a grading that will indicate business prospect, for agro-produces promoted under One Village One Product (OVOP) scheme in an effort to ensure their quality for domestic and foreign market.
The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC), which has been monitoring the quality of the OVOP products, is making final preparation for setting quality standard rating that is expected to promote sales of those products.
“We have set a certain standard for OVOP products with huge potential to become popular in both domestic and international market,” Pramod Koirala, spokesperson of the DFTQC told Republica.
The government has been promoting around a dozen products under the OVOP program in collaboration with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). The government has allocated Rs 40 million for the fiscal year 2011/12.
“We are giving one, three or five star rating depending on the quality of the products and their potential markets so that domestic as well as international consumers would be assured of their quality. We will start with the quality rating for food products in the first phase,” said Koirala. Under the rating system the DFTQC will monitor the label, coloring, packaging and other quality criteria for the selected products.
The OVOP program that currently covers total 22 districts was formally launched incorporating the policy through the budget for the fiscal year 2006/07 emulating the “One Tambon One Product (OTOP)” concept practiced in Thailand.
Pradip Maharjan, Chief Executive Officer of Agro Enterprise Center under the FNCCI, said with the increasing popularity in domestic as well as overseas market, the concept of star rating for OVOP products was introduced to ensure their quality among consumers. The FNCCI has been working as an implementing agency for the OVOP scheme that was launched under the concept of Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Those selected for star rating are Lapsi candy, sweet orange juice, Bel juice, organic coffee. “On the basis of quality and target market, DFTQC will give one-star, three-star or five-star rating to the selected products,” Maharjan said.
Under the quality grading, one-star is for products meant for local market, three-star for nation-wide market and five-star for the export purpose. Out of the total products under OVOP, orchid flower and organic coffee are being exported to Japan whereas rainbow trout fishes are in high demand from Kerung area of Tibet.
According to Maharjan, annual turnover of Lapsi products has reached Rs 2.5 million, sweat orange products around five million rupees (7,500 tons), rainbow trout around Rs 15 million (18 tons) and Rs 1.5 million worth of bel juice (10,000 bottles).
“Nepali citrus products including sweet orange have better prospect for export to China that has recently signed a pact with Nepal to remove existing hurdles in such products,” said Maharjan.
Strict quarantine provisions imposed by Chinese authorities had been creating problems in the export of Nepali citrus products including orange and sweet orange to the northern neighbor.
Products and service selected under the OVOP are sweet orange and its juice (Sindhuli and Ramechhap), lapsi candy (Bhaktapur), rainbow trout fish (Nuwakot, Rashuwa), bel and its juice (Bardia), organic coffee (Syanjha), orchid flower (Lalitpur), betel nuts (Jhapa) and banana (Chitwan), agro-tourism ( in different districts) were selected under the program in the initial year.
Source: Republica
The government is introducing star rating, a grading that will indicate business prospect, for agro-produces promoted under One Village One Product (OVOP) scheme in an effort to ensure their quality for domestic and foreign market.
The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC), which has been monitoring the quality of the OVOP products, is making final preparation for setting quality standard rating that is expected to promote sales of those products.
“We have set a certain standard for OVOP products with huge potential to become popular in both domestic and international market,” Pramod Koirala, spokesperson of the DFTQC told Republica.
The government has been promoting around a dozen products under the OVOP program in collaboration with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). The government has allocated Rs 40 million for the fiscal year 2011/12.
“We are giving one, three or five star rating depending on the quality of the products and their potential markets so that domestic as well as international consumers would be assured of their quality. We will start with the quality rating for food products in the first phase,” said Koirala. Under the rating system the DFTQC will monitor the label, coloring, packaging and other quality criteria for the selected products.
The OVOP program that currently covers total 22 districts was formally launched incorporating the policy through the budget for the fiscal year 2006/07 emulating the “One Tambon One Product (OTOP)” concept practiced in Thailand.
Pradip Maharjan, Chief Executive Officer of Agro Enterprise Center under the FNCCI, said with the increasing popularity in domestic as well as overseas market, the concept of star rating for OVOP products was introduced to ensure their quality among consumers. The FNCCI has been working as an implementing agency for the OVOP scheme that was launched under the concept of Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Those selected for star rating are Lapsi candy, sweet orange juice, Bel juice, organic coffee. “On the basis of quality and target market, DFTQC will give one-star, three-star or five-star rating to the selected products,” Maharjan said.
Under the quality grading, one-star is for products meant for local market, three-star for nation-wide market and five-star for the export purpose. Out of the total products under OVOP, orchid flower and organic coffee are being exported to Japan whereas rainbow trout fishes are in high demand from Kerung area of Tibet.
According to Maharjan, annual turnover of Lapsi products has reached Rs 2.5 million, sweat orange products around five million rupees (7,500 tons), rainbow trout around Rs 15 million (18 tons) and Rs 1.5 million worth of bel juice (10,000 bottles).
“Nepali citrus products including sweet orange have better prospect for export to China that has recently signed a pact with Nepal to remove existing hurdles in such products,” said Maharjan.
Strict quarantine provisions imposed by Chinese authorities had been creating problems in the export of Nepali citrus products including orange and sweet orange to the northern neighbor.
Products and service selected under the OVOP are sweet orange and its juice (Sindhuli and Ramechhap), lapsi candy (Bhaktapur), rainbow trout fish (Nuwakot, Rashuwa), bel and its juice (Bardia), organic coffee (Syanjha), orchid flower (Lalitpur), betel nuts (Jhapa) and banana (Chitwan), agro-tourism ( in different districts) were selected under the program in the initial year.
Source: Republica
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