Hanoi (VNA) – Thanh Ha litchis, a specialty of northern Hai Duongprovince, will be introduced to customers in Hanoi during a week-long festivalfrom June 12-18.
The information was released at apress conference held by the organisers in Hanoi on June 5. The festival isdesigned to promote consumption of the fruits.
To serve the festival, the AnViet Group Joint Stock Company is coordinating with ABA Cooltrans Company inproviding transportation and cool storage services. With a 25,000 sq.m coldstorage which has a capacity of 10,000-15,000 tonnes of products, thepreservation time of litchi will last at least 20 days.
Hai Duong litchis received a geographicalindication from the Ministry of Science and Technology’s National Office ofIntellectual Property in 2007. The local fruits were in the Top 10 qualityproducts in 2013 and 2014 and received the Gold Brand prize in 2015.
The Vietnam Association of FoodScience and Technology granted a “trustful and safe food brand” certificate to ThanhHa litchis in 2016. The same year, the ancient litchi tree in Thuy Lam villagewas recognised as the oldest of its kind in Vietnam.
Thanh Ha district has 3,900hectares of litchis, which are expected to yield 35,000 tonnes of fruits thisyear.
According to Nguyen Thi Ha, ViceDirector of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the province has10,500 hectares of litchis, expected to yield 55,000-60,000 tonnes of fruitsthis year. The harvest time is from May 15 to the end of June.
Currently, 131.68 hectares oflocal litchi cultivation are qualified for export to the US, EU and Australia.The province is also home to 334 hectares of litchis grown in accordance withVietGAP standards.
Besides the domestic market,Thanh Ha litchis have increased its presence outside the country. The fruits havebeen sold in Australia, Canada, China, France, Malaysia, the Philippines,Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the US.-VNA