The northern province of Bac Giang has rolled out various measures to bring “thieu” litchi – the locality’s specialty fruit – to more markets inside and outside the country.

Recently, the province has coordinated with ministries of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture and Rural Development to organise an online conference on litchi sales in nearly 80 target markets at home and abroad.

The conference provided an opportunity for Bac Giang to promote litchi sales in domestic and export markets; and strengthen its coordination with centrally-run agencies, domestic and foreign provinces and cities, and overseas Vietnamese economic, trade and diplomatic agencies. It also served as a forum for domestic and foreign businesses to find partners and sign contracts for litchi and litchi-based products in this year.

During the event, Bac Giang signed memoranda of understanding on cooperation in litchi selling with a number of e-commerce platforms and online sale channels.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Giang province Phan The Tuan said that thanks to the favourable weather and the close control of growing area codes, the quality of Bac Giang’s litchi was higher than in previous years.

The output this year was estimated at 180,000 tonnes, of which about 60,000 tonnes were harvested early from May 20. The main harvest season runs from June 10 to July 25, with around 21,250 hectares producing 120,000 tonnes.

To achieve good quality from the beginning of the crop, Bac Giang province has focused on guiding local farmers on cultivation techniques and on how to use guaranteed plant protection drugs, and expanding growing areas following the VietGAP and GlobalGAP organic farming standards.

In 2022, Bac Giang province expects to sell about 108,000 tonnes of litchi, with 60 percent in the domestic market and around 72,000 tonnes abroad.

Bac Giang province already supplies the fruit to big supermarkets such as MM Mega Market, GO!, and Co.opmart; together with wholesale fruit markets in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the southern province of Dong Nai. At the same time, the province has expanded and developed markets in other localities throughout the country.

Regarding exports, the Chinese market is still identified as the main market with many years of cooperation with Bac Giang. In addition, the province continues to export litchi to the US, the European Union (EU), Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Australia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore, and will expand exports to the Middle East, Thailand and Canada.

The province has also focused on changing consumer habits, combining traditional and modern methods, especially promoting the sale on domestic and international e-commerce platforms.

Jose Mestre, a representative of the Central Retail Group in Vietnam, said that Central Retail will reserve the best positions in the GO!, Big C, and Tops Market supermarkets to introduce Bac Giang litchi, and offer attractive promotions. This year, for the first time, the sales department will livestream to sell litchi to more customers.

Counsellor Tran Thi Thu Trang at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand stated that the embassy will coordinate with Bac Giang in developing the market for the province’s litchi in Thailand, organising activities to promote the fruit in the country, and helping local litchi export and processing businesses participate in fairs in Bangkok and provinces to boost demand.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Giang province Le Anh Duong committed to creating favourable conditions for the sale of litchi.

The 2021 litchi crop generated over 6.8 trillion VND (293 million USD) in The 2021 litchi crop generated over 6.8 trillion VND (293 million USD) in revenue for the northern province, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

Local farmers sold more than 215,000 tonnes of litchi last year, up over 50,000 tonnes from the 2020 crop, for an average price of 19,800 VND per kg. Of the amount, 126,000 tonnes (58.6 percent) were sold on the domestic market and more than 89,000 tonnes (41.4 percent) were exported.

Within the conference framework, Bac Giang leaders cut the ribbon to ship first litchi batches to domestic and foreign markets./.