Vietnam is due to export the first batch of fresh litchi to Japan in late May this year.

A farmer harvests litchi in Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province (Photo: VNA)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong on April 26 visited the northern province of Bac Giang to inspect the preparation for export.

Local authorities said the province had cooperated with the ministry’s Plant Protection Department to select 19 area codes for 103 hectares with an estimated output of 600 tonnes in Yen The and Luc Ngan districts, and asked the Japanese side to approve these codes.

Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Duong Van Thai said the province has been ready to ship the high-quality fruit to the market.

He added that three local enterprises have signed contracts to bring the fruit to Japan.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the committee Lai Thanh Son said specialised agencies are supporting businesses to export the fruit as required by the Japanese market.

In 2020, Bac Giang has 28,000 hectares of litchi, including over 160,000 hectares for harvesting, up 10,000 tonnes compared to the previous year.

The area of litchi produced according to VietGAP standard is estimated at 15,000 hectares with an output of 110,000 tonnes, accounting for 53% and 69% of the total, respectively.

As many as 80 hectares of litchi are planted under GlobalGAP practices with an estimated output of 500 tonnes to serve high-end markets.