The world's largest exporter was Madagascar, accounting for 35 percent of the global exports despite a low area of plantations, said Sisir Kumar Mitra, an ISHS representative at the sixth international conference on longan and lychee in Hanoi late last week.

Vietnam has become the second largest exporter of lychees, accounting for 19 percent of the global market share.

Following was China with 18 percent, Thailand with 10 percent and South Africa with 9 percent.

According to consumers and companies on the global market, the quality of Vietnam's lychees was much better than similar products from India and China, he said.

The ISHS representative said in terms of output, China ranked first with 2 million tonnes per year, followed by India with 677,000 tonnes and Vietnam with 380,000 tonnes.

Despite having the second largest area of lychee plantations in the world after China, over 99 percent of India's lychees are consumed domestically.

Nguyen Quoc Hung, Director of the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute, said Vietnam had a smaller output of lychees against China and India but because of the harvest season and difference in seed quality, Vietnam had seen strong growth in lychee exports.

Deputy Director of the Bac Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Viet Toan said Bac Giang province had over 28,500 hectares of lychees trees, including more than 14,000 hectares produced under VietGAP and GlobalGap standards. The province’s output was estimated to reach 150,000 tonnes of lychees this year.

Besides domestic markets, Luc Ngan lychees from Bac Giang are available in many countries, including China, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and the UK.

Vietnamese lychees have brand protection in China, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Singapore, Laos and Cambodia.

Vietnam has had 18 lychee growing regions receiving plantation region codes from the US Department of Agriculture while 36 other regions have reached export standards to ship to China this year.

Over the years, many scientific and technological advances have been applied in the production of longan and lychees. However, processed fruit account for only 10 percent of total consumption volume.

Nguyen Van Phong, an expert from the Southern Fruit Institute, said the number of small-scale farmers growing rambutan, longan and lychees accounted for 70 percent of domestic production, but they had suffered huge losses due to poor management and traders.

The loss rate was up to 25-30 percent of output. This percentage decreased slightly to 11-35 percent for farmers that were part of co-operatives with large production scale.

Besides that, the lack of post-harvest technology remained an issue.

100 tonnes of lychees exported via Lao Cai border gate

(BGO) – The Customs Division at Lao Cai Border Gate (Lao Cai province) cleared the customs procedures for over 110 tonnes of fresh lychee from May 7 to June 3, mostly originated from Bac Giang province to export to China via Kim Thanh International Border Gate Road No.2, worth 34.4 million USD.

Luc Ngan lychee week slated on June 7 in Hanoi

(BGO) – The People Committee in Luc Ngan district (Bac Giang province) on June 4 held a press conference about the Lychee Week and Forum of Connecting the Production and Consumption of Luc Ngan Lychee and Signature Products (Week and Forum) at the Hanoi Center of Exhibition, Introduction and Distribution of Safe Food and Farm Produce in Hanoi.

Saigon Co.op takes northern lychees around the country

The Saigon Union of Trading Co-operatives (Saigon Co.op) will buy 500-700 tonnes of thieu lychees, a unique fruit grown in the northern province of Bac Giang’s Luc Ngan District, this year, 25 percent more than in 2018.

Luc Ngan lychee officially enters southern distribution system

(BGO) - Saigon Co.op and the Department of Industry and Trade of Bac Giang province jointly held the lychee consumption promotion programme into the distribution system of Saigon Co.op in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of 3 June.

Early lychees sold at high price

(BGO) – The early ripen lychees in Tan Yen and Luc Ngan districts in Bac Giang province are enjoying good consumption with high selling price. As of June 1, the fruits were sold at 40,000 VND (1.72 USD) per kilogram in Phuc Hoa commune (Tan Yen district) and 60,000  VND (2.57 USD) per kilogram in Luc Ngan district.  

Source: VNA