Bac Giang enjoys successful early-ripening lychee crop

The early-ripening lychee output this year accounted for nearly one-third of the province's total lychee production, about 58,000 out of 180,000 tonnes, mainly in Tan Yen and Luc Ngan districts. The early-ripen lychee was harvested at the time when the Covid-19 epidemic was ravaging the country and Bac Giang was the "hottest" spot. Anticipating the difficulties, the province actively prepared measures to deal with and enjoyed a successful early-ripening lychee crop.

Determined to bring early-ripening lychee to Japanese market

Right from the beginning of the crop, specialized agencies advised the provincial authorities to early connect with ministries and central agencies to negotiate with Japanese partners. The Japanese side authorized Vietnam to be responsible for lychee steam, sterilization, and packaging due to the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Early-ripening lychees are preliminarily processed before being steamed and disinfected for export to Japan.

May 26 marked an important milestone for the Phuc Hoa early-ripening lychee area as for the first time 20 tonnes of early-ripening lychee were exported to Japan.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam informed that on the first day of arrival, all of the lychees were sold out, with an average selling price of 300,000-500,000 VND (13-21 USD) per kg. The Bac Giang lychee was welcomed and appreciated by local consumers.

Nam added that this year, the number of companies in Japan registering to import Vietnamese lychees has increased many times. Up to now, nearly 100 tonnes of Bac Giang lychees have been exported to the Japanese market. It is expected that in 2021, about 1,000 tonnes of lychees will be shipped to this market.

Building Covid-19-free lychee areas

In addition to the Japanese market, Bac Giang’s early-ripening lychee has been also consumed in countries such as Australia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and China, with an output of more than 20,000 tonnes. Over 25,000 tonnes are set for domestic consumption in supermarkets and large wholesale markets...

The provincial Department of Industry and Trade reported that by June 9, the whole province sold more than 50,000 tonnes of the total 58,000 tonnes of early-ripening lychee, for 13,000-30,000 VND per kg, the same price as last year.

In the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, with larger output and higher selling prices, this year's early-ripening lychee crop is considered to be more successful than last year. This result is attributed to the province’s careful preparations to deal with arising difficulties, with three scenarios for lychee sale developed.

When the early lychee began to ripen right at the time when the Covid-19 epidemic was complicated, Bac Giang activated scenario 2 and at the same time urgently constructed a "belt" to protect the lychee areas from the pandemic. All risk factors were removed from the lychee areas. Localities with early-ripening lychee set up checkpoints to control people and vehicles in and out.

This was the first year the province had established two working groups at the border gates in Lao Cai and Lang Son provinces to promptly grasp and solve problems facing lychee exporters. The Bac Giang Department of Transport arranged nearly 600 vehicles to transport lychees.

The province soon sent written requests to the Government, the Prime Minister, ministries, central agencies, provinces and cities to take measures to remove difficulties. Thanks to that, Bac Giang lychees earned a "passport" to go through the Covid-19 checkpoints when meeting all the prescribed procedures for epidemic prevention and control. Officials at the border gate were willing to work overtime to facilitate the customs clearance for lychees.

Bac Giang also encouraged promoting e-commerce transactions and enhancing online connections. There are seven trading floors selling lychees of Bac Giang such as: Sendo, Voso (Viettel Post), Tiki, Shopee, Postmart (VNpost), Lazada and Alibaba.com. The volume of goods traded through the floors has increased daily.

Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Le Anh Duong said that the successful early-ripening lychee crop amid the pandemic was an important milestone in implementing the "dual goals" of preventing and controlling the epidemic and promoting economic development. The key to this problem was that Bac Giang actively adhered to reality and anticipated arising problems to solve them promptly and proactively."

The province has just held an online conference to promote lychee consumption at 30 domestic and foreign locations; thereby creating the most favorable conditions for businesses and traders to boost lychee consumption.