Japanese experts approve Vietnam lychee exports

Japanese authorities have allowed imports of lychees grown in the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Giang following a thorough examination of phytosanitary measures.

Farmers show lychees farmed in Lam Village, Nam Duong Commune, Luc Ngan District, Bac Giang Province, Vietnam in this undated file photo. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

After finishing a 14-day COVID-19 quarantine period as per the Vietnamese pandemic prevention regulations, a team of Japanese experts on Wednesday completed their test and examination of phytosanitary measures and treatment for lychees produced in Bac Giang, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s deputy director Le Ba Thanh told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The experts arrived in Vietnam on June 3 upon a request made by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and served their mandatory quarantine in Bac Giang, a famous lychee growing hub in the Southeast Asian country.

According to Thanh, the Japanese experts were able to confirmed that all the preparatory measures met Japanese import standards, from preliminary processing, packaging, and sterilizing, to preserving.

“The lychees are all [produced] in accordance with the specifications that the Japanese side requires,” Thanh said, adding that the examination procedures concluded on Wednesday.

Thanh added that Japanese experts, the Plant Protection Department under the agriculture ministry, the Bac Giang administration, and lychee export enterprises will have a final meeting before the first shipment of fresh lychees to Japan.

The experts are expected to monitor the preliminary processing, packaging, and sterilizing of the first batch of lychees on Thursday, Thanh said.

Previously, Japan’s MAFF requested that their experts visit Vietnam to examine and supervise phytosanitary measures and treatment for each batch of lychees, and only those recognized as eligible will be permitted for export to Japan.

This year will mark the first time fresh Vietnamese lychees make their way to Japan’s demanding market.

Lychee plantations cover 103 hectares and produce 600 metric tons in Bac Giang’s Yen The and Luc Ngan Districts.

Luc Ngan lychees have been exported to more than 30 countries around the world, including the EU, Russia, the U.S., and Canada, with China accounting for 90 percent of the export quantity as of December 2019, according to the official VGP News.