Ben Tre green-skinned pomelo (Vinh Long province) demonstrates that intellectual property not only protects brands but also opens the way for agricultural products to reach out to the world. This is also the heading many cooperatives are selecting to elevate competitive edge and raise product value.

2 months ago, from Giao Long commune (Vinh Long province), the first batch of green-skinned pomelos from Vietnam was officially exported to Australia. This achievement arrived after nearly two years of satisfying quarantine requirements and import standards.

Brands leading the way for export

The above event does not merely open up an additional new market for Vietnamese green-skinned pomelos. More importantly, it demonstrates that brands, intellectual property, and production processes are becoming mandatory conditions for Vietnamese agricultural products to conquer demanding markets.

Prior to being licensed for import into Australia, Vietnamese pomelos underwent nearly two years of pest risk assessment. This is a market possessing very high requirements on quarantine and biosecurity. In addition, products must be grown in zones possessing codes, packed at approved facilities, irradiated prior to export, and satisfy full regulations on traceability.

Notably, although the actual growing zone currently belongs to Vinh Long province, the product still carries the name “Ben Tre green-skinned pomelo”. On the packaging, the enterprise concurrently supplements information regarding the growing zone to guarantee origin transparency. This method of doing both satisfies traceability requirements and maintains the identification value of the brand already known by the market.

This selection reflects the increasingly clear role of intellectual property in agricultural product exports. For many past years, the “Ben Tre green-skinned pomelo” brand was constructed from product quality, growing zone prestige, and a methodical investment process for intellectual property assets. When consumers care day by day more about origins and sources, a protected brand helps upgrade trust and generate a competitive edge in the market.

The value of brands and intellectual property against Ben Tre green-skinned pomelos was early affirmed on an international scope. 2 years ago, the product was granted a protection title for the certification mark “Ben Tre Pomelo & Device” by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. This serves as an important milestone, helping protect the brand before risks of being infringed upon in foreign markets. Concurrently, the title also generates a legal basis for the product to carry the exact local name when participating in international distribution systems.

From a market perspective, a certification mark represents a commitment regarding quality and origin to consumers. For enterprises and cooperatives, that constitutes an asset possessing long-term value, contributing to elevating positions when approaching demanding markets.

According to experts, when price advantages contract day by day, the competitive capacity of agricultural products no longer relies on output volume. Instead, it is stable quality, traceability capacity, and brands protected by law. Intellectual property, therefore, becomes an important part of the export value chain, helping many co-ops switch from the mindset of selling agricultural products to developing brands and expanding markets sustainably.

This trend is demonstrating itself clearly in the actual operations of agricultural cooperatives.

Co-ops keeping growing zone standards

Ben Tre Green-skinned Pomelo Agricultural Cooperative in Phu Tuc commune (Vinh Long province), established in 2016, currently possesses 155 members, with approximately 110 hectares of production area. The core product is green-skinned pomelos, consumed domestically and exported to the United States and the European Union (EU).

Back in 2025, the cooperative achieved a revenue of over 13 billion VND, with an output volume of around 410 tons. Although profits are not yet high, the unit still persistently invests in production under international standards to retain markets and raise product value.

Currently, the cooperative owns two growing area codes for export to the United States, and two growing area codes for the EU and New Zealand. The packing facility satisfies HACCP standards, while concurrently being granted a packing code serving the New Zealand market.

To possess these “admission tickets”, members must strictly comply with production processes, from utilizing agricultural supplies to recording cultivation logs. Every step is controlled aiming to satisfy traceability requirements. Thanks to that, each shipment can precisely determine the growing zone and the manufacturing household.

According to the cooperative representative, facing demands to expand exports to the US and China, the unit is mobilizing households possessing adjacent orchards to participate in constructing a concentrated raw material zone. The target is to expand standardized areas and develop additional growing area codes serving export.

This constitutes not only a market requirement but also a method to protect the brand. Because the value of a protected brand can only be maintained when every member complies together with common regulations on quality and product origin.

Reality demonstrates that intellectual property does not merely stop at a protection title. Brand value relies on maintaining quality, controlling production, and keeping raw material zone prestige. Concurrently, the assets of cooperatives also alter, as trademarks, geographical indications, plant varieties, and traceability become “soft capital” generating a competitive edge.

This orientation has been concretized in the amended Law on Intellectual Property through perfecting protection mechanisms and strengthening support for cooperatives to register and exploit intellectual assets. The focus centers on OCOP products and local specialties possessing competitive advantages. When competition intensifies day by day, intellectual property becomes the foundation helping cooperatives protect brands, elevate agricultural product value, and expand markets in a sustainable manner.

Efficiently exploiting intellectual assets

The amended Law on Intellectual Property is creating a more favorable legal corridor for the registration, exploitation, and protection of intellectual assets. The law also perfects protection mechanisms against copyrights, inventions, trademarks, geographical indications, and plant varieties. Many localities concurrently support cooperatives to tie intellectual property with OCOP programs, from trademark registration to traceability and product promotion.

According to experts, this serves as a necessary step against a deep and wide integration context. In reality, there have been not a few cases where Vietnamese agricultural product brands were pre-registered abroad, causing enterprises to lose plenty of time and costs to resolve disputes, and even having to alter names when exporting.

Therefore, many co-ops have altered mindsets. If previously, registering intellectual property was viewed as a legal procedure, it is now considered an investment for long-term competitive capacity.

However, protection is only the initial step. A trademark or geographical indication only truly carries value when efficiently exploited and maintained by stable quality. That demands tight linkages among manufacturers, cooperatives, enterprises, and regulatory agencies.

The story of Ben Tre green-skinned pomelos serves as a distinct testament. Being protected helps the product elevate recognition capacities and expand markets. Yet to retain the brand's prestige, the entire production chain must comply together with cultivation processes, quality standards, and regulations on using geographical indications.

Currently, the geographical indication “Ben Tre green-skinned pomelo” has been exploited by many co-ops, enterprises, and households in commercial activities. Thanks to that, product value is elevated and consumers easily recognize origins more.

However, management work still possesses limitations. Monitoring quality and utilizing geographical indications in a number of places is not yet truly synchronous. Inspection resources remain restricted, while coordination among related parties has not satisfied demands.

Experts argue that for the “Ben Tre green-skinned pomelo” brand to promote efficiency, it is necessary to continue perfecting management mechanisms, strengthening value chain linkages, and applying traceability technology. Concurrently, it is crucial to step up legal propaganda on intellectual property so that cooperatives and manufacturers clearly understand rights and responsibilities when using a shared brand.

This work helps elevate compliance awareness and preserve product prestige. Only when intellectual assets are protected and efficiently exploited will agricultural product brands become a sustainable competitive edge in the international market.

Source: Vnbusiness