The One Tambon One Product (Otop) Midyear Fest 2021 has returned. This time, the fair is available via an online shopping platform.
The event is organised by the Community Development Department (CDD) of the Interior Ministry. It aims to improve local products nationwide by selecting and grading each item three to five stars, with five being a premium grade.
In the past, the Otop Midyear was organised for nine days at Impact Muang Thong Thani, which is currently serving as the Bussarakham field hospital for Covid-19 patients. Instead, the CDD has partnered with Shopee.com, the Singaporean e-commerce company, to launch a microsite for the Otop Midyear Fest.
According to the CDD, about 600 retailers participated in the online marketplace, from which about 3,000 shops had joined the fair last year. Products available via the online site include food, snacks, handicrafts, woven clothes, fashion accessories, house decorations, gardening and farming tools.
Deep fried durian from Chanthaburi.
The first page of the shopping site displays Otop highlights such as "Recommended Items", "Top Selling Food", "Best Selling Handicraft Items" and "Products Selected by CDD". Clicking on an item will further reveal product details including dimensions, places of production and customer reviews.
While choices of products are limited, especially if looking for organic food, interested Otop vendors can still join the online fair.
The Otop Midyear Fest 2021 is available from now to Oct 15 at shopee.co.th/m/otop. The site supports only the Thai language.
Visit cdd.go.th or its Fan Page at facebook.com/prcdd or call 02-141-8910 for more details.
Folded mats from Maha Sarakham.
Five-starred Otop product from Narathiwat.
