Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Nguyen Hong Dien on May 25 discussed measures for the consumption of lychee in Bac Giang, the lychee hub of Vietnam.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien at the meeting on May 25. Photo: MOIT

The discussions were crucial for Bac Giang which tops the country for the number of Covid-19 infections in the fresh wave of coronavirus with 1,400 cases.

MoIT held the meeting with Bac Giang’s authorities following the request made by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh who said that the ministry needs to take all measures to facilitate the consumption as lychee gives high economic values.

According to Chairman of the Bac Giang People’s Committee Le Anh Duong, Bac Giang has more than 28,000 ha, mostly in Luc Ngan district, yielding around 180,000 tons in this season that lasts from May 20 to July 20.

Duong said the lychee turnover likely reaches VND7 trillion (US$304 million).

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said the ministry will facilitate domestic consumption, export, and e-commerce.

Lychee in Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang. Photo: Do Huong/VGP

In early May, the Ministry of Public Security agreed to allow the entry of 190 Chinese traders to buy lychee in Bac Giang. China is the traditional market of Luc Ngan lychee.

To keep the lychee hub safe from Covid-19, Luc Ngan has set up checkpoints at the entrance gates to tighten control on visitors, mostly traders and workers coming for lychee transactions. The local authorities will also disinfect all lychee batches before the shipment.

Notably, each pack will be labeled certificate of origin and phytosanitary certificate.

Vietnamese lychee is a favorite fruit of Chinese customers. The majority of Vietnam’s lychee, which is also grown in Hai Duong province and other parts of the country, is exported to China.

So far, Vietnam’s lychee has been shipped to more than 30 countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, the US, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Luc Ngan lychee has been awarded geographical indication (GI) by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the first product of Vietnam to win such certification in Japan.

Vietnam ranks third worldwide for the volume of lychee with approximately 380,000 tons/year, behind China with two million tons/year and India 677,000 tons/year.