Consumers in Singapore, the United States and Australia have the chance to taste Vietnamese lychees after first batches of lychees were shipped from Hai Duong province, the country’s leading lychee grower, on May 25.

Thanks to favourable weather, Hai Duong expects a bumper lychee harvest this year 

The Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company exported the first lychee containers to Singapore, while the Red Dragon Manufacturing, Trading and Service Co., Ltd. shipped its first lychee containers to the Australian and US markets.

Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, Vietnam has almost encountered no difficulty in exporting lychees to such markets as China, Australia and the US thanks to thorough preparations and continued marketing approaches for years.

An advantage in exporting lychees this year, according to Trung, is that Australia has recently approved irradiation to be carried out in Hanoi. In addition, the application of technological advances can help preserve fresh lychees up to 35 days, making it convenient for transportation by sea to other countries.

Trung also revealed that lychee growing localities have satisfied Japan’s demanding requirements and they stand ready to export the products to this market. However, he said Vietnam will continue to hold negotiations on specific conditions with Japan so that the first containers will be shipped very soon.

Currently, Hai Duong has 9,700ha under lychee cultivation, mostly in Thanh Ha district with about 3,600ha and Chi Linh city of 3,900ha. This year, its lychee output is estimated at 45,000 tonnes.

Hai Duong is projected to export about 1,500 tonnes of high-quality lychees to Europe, the US, Australia, Japan and several other high-end markets.