High quality Bac Giang lychee has been exported to choosing markets including Japan and Australia. (Photo:VietnamPlus)
Hanoi (VNA) – Never before have the prices and sale of lychee received such great attention as it is now. And perhaps, authorities and people of northern Bac Giang province have never been so proud of and confident with this kind of fruit despite the complex development of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That's the reason why Duong Van Thai, Secretary of the Bac Giang Provincial Party Committee, could not help but feel disheartened when people called for efforts to "rescue lychee" in some places.
The availability of fresh and red litchi on shelves in supermarkets at home and abroad is a result of sweat of farmers as well as the "reinforcement" of the policies from cultivation to sale, he said.
On June 2, the People's Committee of Bac Giang province asked press agencies not to use the word "rescue" in news and articles when reporting about the sale of the province’s agricultural products in general and lychee in particular.
Thai said Bac Giang’s saying no to the word does not mean that it does not want people to trade the fruit.
“We always support the sale of lychee in all forms. However, we want to provide Bac Giang specialties with the best quality to consumers,” he added.
Duong Van Thai, Secretary of the Bac Giang Provincial Party Committee. (Photo:VNA)
New sale method
On June 6, lychee was put on sale on six e-commerce platforms namely Sendo (run by FPT), Vo So (Viettel Post), Postmart (VNpost), Tiki, Shopee, and Lazada.
This aims to help Bac Giang lychee access domestic and international markets faster and wider, in line with the sale method in the Industry 4.0 technology and the complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic developments.
Accordingly, after receiving orders from customers, Bac Giang farmers will harvest lychee, pack and keep it properly. The containers are labeled with traceability stamps and quickly transported to localities. The product will reach consumers within two or three days.
TTH, a Vietnamese residing in Singapore, said the availability of fresh Bac Giang lychee on shelves of NTUT’s supermarkets of NTUC – the country’s largest supply chain - made her and other Vietnamese people living there happy during the days of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Holding a box of lychee in my hand, I feel glad and touched because high-quality Vietnamese agricultural products have been known and recognised by international friends,” she said.
Although this is the first time farmers in Bac Giang sold lychee in livestreams of local e-commerce firm Sendo platform, the results were surprising. Eight tonnes of lychee were sold on Sendo site within 40 minutes.
As of June 13, more than 97,000 tonnes have been sold, of which over 57,000 tonnes were exported to China, Japan, and the United States.
Addressing a teleconference linking 29 locations at home and abroad held on June 8 to discuss lychee sale this year, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien hailed Bac Giang for selling lychee via e-commerce platforms, describing it as the right approach amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bac Giang lychee trademark is currently protected in eight countries namely China, the US, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Laos, and Cambodia.
Earlier, in March, it became the first Vietnamese farm produce to receive geographical indication protection in Japan, paving the way for it to enter other promising markets.
A COVID-19 checkpoint for traders and drivers involved in the lychee trade in Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province. (Photo: VNA)
According to Duong Thanh Tung, Director of Bac Giang province’s Agriculture and Rural Development, planning the cultivation area is always the top concern for the local agricultural industry because it is a sustainable way to maintain and improve product quality.
There were times when the area under lychee was over 33,000 hectares. However, he said, the figure has been lowered to 28,000 hectares in recent years.
The province also encouraged farmers to take part in cooperative models instead of small-scale production as before, he said.
This does not only gradually balance the supply and demand, but also help farmers access concentrated cultivation, apply science and technology well to increase productivity, product quality, and facilitate sale.
“With the success from lychee, our locality will continue to proceed with other agricultural products such as custard apple in the future,” said Tung./.
