Production in the "vortex" of the pandemic

Over the past two years, the collective economy, cooperatives in general, and industrial and handicraft cooperatives in particular have encountered countless difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. To stay afloat in the epidemic “vortex”, industrial and handicraft cooperatives in the province have made efforts to implement many solutions.

Difficulties pile up

Having just restored production for a short time after damage caused by the historic flood in October 2020, industrial and handicraft cooperatives in the province are once again facing difficulties due to the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 epidemic. Wednesday from the end of April 2021 until now.

Tan An milled sesame cake village cooperative (Quang Thanh commune, Quang Trach district) has 15 members and about 70 employees, specializing in producing all kinds of rice paper for consumption in markets inside and outside the province, such as Hanoi, City. . Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue, Ninh Binh… During the flood in October 2020, the cooperative’s production machinery system was damaged, causing a loss of about 1.7 billion VND.

Ms. Phan Thi Cam Tu, Director of Tan An Milled Sesame Cake Village Cooperative said: “Due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the cooperative’s consumption of goods decreased sharply. Besides, we also encounter difficulties in human resources due to the epidemic. Currently, the cooperative’s operating capacity is only 50% compared to previous years, while it still has to repay bank debt every month.”

Quang Thuy wooden chopsticks cooperative strives to maintain production activities.

Recently, Quang Phuong Rattan Production and Service Cooperative (Quang Phuong commune, Quang Trach district) has been a place to create jobs for 15 cooperative members and 150 seasonal workers. With an average income of 3.5-5 million VND/person/month, many people have the conditions to improve their family life. However, in the context of the complicated Covid-19 epidemic, cooperatives are facing many difficulties.

Ms. Phan Thi Thuy, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Director of Quang Phuong Rattan Production and Service Cooperative said: “The cooperative’s production raw materials and consumption markets are mainly from other provinces, however, the Covid-19 epidemic 19 has caused difficulties in the production and consumption of cooperative products at the transportation stage. From August 2021 until now, the cooperative has had to completely stop production due to lack of raw materials.”

Efforts to maintain production

Quang Thuy wooden chopsticks production and trading cooperative (Quang Thuy wooden chopsticks cooperative), Quang Thuy commune, town. Ba Don, specializes in producing high-quality inlaid wooden chopsticks and processing chopsticks for partners exporting to Korea and Japan. In addition, the cooperative also produces household handicrafts, such as: toothpick jars, coconut wood wine ladles… With a focus on ensuring quality in production, the cooperative’s wooden chopsticks products have been certified OCOP 3 provincial level stars, currently preparing applications to upgrade the provincial level OCOP for wooden chopsticks and 3-star OCOP at the town level for toothpick jars and coconut wine ladles.

Mr. Le Thanh Trien, Director of Quang Thuy Wooden Chopsticks Cooperative said: “After the flood in October 2020, the cooperative lost more than 1 billion VND in machinery and goods. With the encouragement of governments at all levels, we have found every way to revive production and create jobs for workers. The cooperative borrowed 2 billion from the bank to build a 2-story steel factory to resist floods and reinvest in machinery. Continuing to be affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, the market share of wooden chopsticks products serving the tourism industry decreased by 70%; Product output supplied to some out-of-province distributors was greatly affected…”.

Amidst countless difficulties, Mr. Trien said, the cooperative has researched and found solutions suitable to the current situation to maintain production, such as: Finding more models of chopsticks suitable for the current economic situation ( Reasonable price but still maintain quality and diverse designs); develop marketing strategies for products; Expand promotion on electronic commerce (e-commerce) channels; Aiming for the export market…

Thanks to that, Quang Thuy wooden chopsticks cooperative is still maintaining production and has a consumption market. The cooperative has signed contracts with many partners to provide wooden chopsticks for export to Japan and Korea. Currently, workers of the cooperative have an income of 4.5-10 million VND/person/month. In addition, nearly 30 households were supported by the cooperative with home processing.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thuyen, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Cooperative Alliance, said that facing difficulties in capital and consumption markets due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, some cooperatives have tried to overcome and take advantage of the favorable conditions. , advantages in raw materials, attention and support from industries and localities… should still maintain production and business progress, ensuring jobs and life for members and workers. Some cooperatives have proactively sought appropriate directions, invested in purchasing modern machinery and advanced technology to put into production, so the products produced are of good quality, reaching markets outside their provinces and countries.

To support cooperatives to overcome difficulties, the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance has implemented a project to build an e-commerce platform to support product consumption for cooperatives. The Provincial Cooperative Alliance has also proposed many solutions, such as: Focusing on supporting and building new cooperative models suitable to the context of the 4.0 revolution, cooperatives following the product value chain and high technology; Improve the effectiveness of cooperative support services in terms of trade promotion, technology and environmental protection, legal support, credit loans from the cooperative development support fund, loan fund for job creation… Contact Provincial Cooperative Alliance actively supports cooperatives in accessing support policies and incentives to restore production and business.

By the end of 2020, the whole province had 40 industrial and handicraft cooperatives operating, an increase of 22 cooperatives compared to 2002. Revenue in 2020 reached 32,150 million VND, an average of 803 million VND/cooperative; profit of 1,929 million VND; Average income is 3.2 million VND/person/month. However, this revenue and profit are lower than the years 2012-2019, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and natural disasters.

Lê Mai