Teleconference discusses consumption of Bac Giang lychees

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Bac Giang (VNA) - A teleconference linking 29 locations at home and abroad was held on June 8 to discuss lychee consumption this year.

The gathering was co-organised by the Bac Giang provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Addressing the conference, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien hailed Bac Giang for selling lychees via e-commerce platforms, saying this is the right approach amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bac Giang lychee trademark is currently protected in eight countries: 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 navigate other promising markets.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Anh Duong said Bac Giang has identified three scenarios for selling lychees this year while working closely with foreign partners and cities, provinces, and merchants to sell other farm produce.

Over 1,500 trucks together with workers are ready to transport and sell lychees, he went on. Sales have proceeded smoothly so far.

Bac Giang’s lychee output is estimated at 180,000 tonnes this year. As of June 7, more than 53,000 tonnes had been sold at home and abroad.

On the occasion, a ceremony was also held to announce a certificate of geographical indication from Japan for Luc Ngan lychees, while stalls selling local lychees were also launched on domestic and foreign e-commerce platforms.

The Prime Minister has tasked the Ministry of Industry and Trade with removing difficulties in the consumption of agricultural products, especially lychee, for Bac Giang province that is now the country’s COVID-19 hotspot.

Accordingly, the ministry will hold working sessions with the northern province, dubbed as Vietnam’s “lychee kingdom,” to set forth plans on lychee purchase and consumption.

At the same time, it needs to step up activities to boost domestic consumption and export, while closely coordinating with relevant ministries, agencies and localities to facilitate the circulation of the fruit.
COVID-19 prevention and control regulations must be always observed, the PM stressed.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, Bac Giang has 28,100 ha of lychee this year, with a total output of some 180,000 tonnes, up 15,000 tonnes from the previous year. The main lychee harvest season will begin in mid-June.

Amidst the pandemic, China - one of Bac Giang’s major lychee buyers - finds it hard to enter the locality.

Bac Giang has decided to establish two groups in charge of supporting lychee export at border gates in the northern provinces of Lao Cai and Lang Son.

Lychees grown in the province, are soon to be sold on e-commerce platforms at home and abroad, including Alibaba and Amazon. The province also bolsters online purchases on websites such as dacsanlucngan.vn and vaithieubacgiang.vn.
First batches of lychee in the 2021 crop of Bac Giang left for Japan on flights arranged by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on early May 27.

The flights, carrying close to 10 tonnes of the tropical fruit, are bound for two major Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka.
Vietnamese lychees have made a noise in the year since they first arrived in Japan. Initially introduced at the AEON supermarket chain in June 2020, lychees have been bought by Japanese consumers and also the local Vietnamese community. Many Japanese customers have praised the freshness of the lychees and bought for their families and friends.

With a growing number of Vietnamese living and working in Japan, there has been an increase in demand for the fruit. The lychees have even become the first story to be discussed when Japanese people and their Vietnamese friends before they mentioned main affairs./.