The first batch of thieu lychees harvested in Thanh Ha Commune, the northern province of Hai Duong was exported to the EU on June 8.

The first batch of thieu lychees is exported to the EU on June 8. Photo: kinhtedothi.vn

The shipment under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was conducted by Pacific Foods and is scheduled to be on store shelves in the Czech Republic in the incoming days.

Director of the Pacific Foods Chung Tri Phong said: "The company will also promote the export of jackfruit, dragon fruit, and rice to the EU."

At the ceremony of the first batch on June 8, Vu Ba Phu, Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has implemented many synchronous measures to expand consumption markets, especially exporting countries.

EU is the fourth largest importer of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits. The import tax exemption and reduction according to the EVFTA commitment will help Vietnamese fruits have the advantage compared to markets that don’t have an FTA with the EU such as Thailand, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. 

Another batch of thieu lychees harvested in Luc Ngan Commune, the northern province of Bac Giang will be shipped to the 27-member bloc next week.

Tens of tons of lychees from Hai Duong and Bac Giang provinces were exported to Japan and Singapore in late May.

Thieu lychees under the One Commune One Product Program (OCOP) in Hai Duong are sold on Vietnam’s leading e-commerce sites including Alibaba.com, Voso.vn, Sendo.vn and Lazada.vn.

Hai Duong has been growing lychee in more than 9,000ha with an estimated production of 55,000 tons per year. Around 40% of the output is sold in the domestic market, and 5% for export.

Bac Giang is expected to gain a volume of 18,000 tons this year.