In the last 2 years, Thailand has surpassed China to become the largest fruit exporter to Vietnam. Specifically, Vietnam has spent over 376 million USD (approximately 8,560 billion VND) on importing fruits from Thailand in the first half of this year.

Despite many disadvantages due to drought and high prices that this year’s lychee crop has to face, Central Group Vietnam and Big C Vietnam have managed to successfully cooperate with CFR (Central Food Retail, Thailand) to open the way for Vietnamese lychee to enter Thai market for the first time ever in order to meet the local need.

It brings in good news for Thieu Lychee growers as the first batch of Vietnamese lychee was exported to Thailand. In addition to this, it’s also an opportunity for Vietnam to export other fruits to Thailand while taking advantage of the reduction in custom duties under the Agreement of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). And moreover, this will help Vietnam narrow its trade gap in fruits from Thailand.

Director of Bac Giang Provincial Department of Industry and Trade, Tran Quang Tan stated: “Till now, Bac Giang lychee has been exported to more than 30 countries across the world. This is good news for lychee growers as Thailand is one of the 5 largest lychee exporters in the world and a very successful country in brand building as well as marketing, export and cosumption of local farm products. The successful export of thieu lychee to Thailand continues to affirm the remarkable success of the consumption chain from production to consumption and its quality in the international market, especially in demanding markets such as the U.S., Australia and Japan”.

Luc Ngan Thieu Lychee exported this time has its own trademark and package with detailed information: VietGAP certificate, barcode for tracking place of origin, geographical indication, and appealing label and logo. At present, Bac Giang Province has basically applied technology in preservation and is attempting to extend the preservation duration of fresh lychee, and gradually turn it into a year-round crop in order to export fresh Thieu Lychee to international markets.

The gross productivity of Bac Giang Thieu Lychee in 2017 is expected to be around 50,000 tons (50%) for domestic consumption and 50,000 tons (50%) for export.

San Nguyen,  Dan Viet – by Viet Ha