The first batch of lychees of northern Bac Giang Province exported to Thailand via an official channel has been put on the shelves of Gourmet Market supermarkets in the import country, a representative of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday.

Vietnamese lychees have been already present in Thailand for several years, but this is the first time that a Vietnamese company has shipped this kind of fruit through an official channel to Thailand and put it on the shelves of a large supermarket chain in this country, a representative of the Department of Industry and Trade said.

Vietnamese lychees are available in seven Gourmet Market supermarkets of The Mall Group, one of the leading retailers in Thailand.

The milestone will help boost the consumption of lychees in the following years as local exporters have been aware of the requirements of importing enterprises and consumers in Thailand, the representative added.

"I am very happy to be one of the pioneering firms to bring fresh lychees to Thai consumers," said Nguyen Xuan Viet, chairman of Vifoco, the exporter. 

"My company hopes to export some 1,000-2,000 metric tons of fresh lychees to Thailand next year."

Nguyen Thanh Huy, a representative of the Vietnam Trade Office in Thailand, affirmed that Thailand is a kingdom of fruits in the Southeast Asian region but it is also a potential market for Vietnamese lychees.

The quality and harvest time of Vietnam’s lychees and other farm produce are keys to winning the Thai market.

For example, the lychee output in Thailand and imports from China plunge in July, paving the way for Vietnamese lychees.

Bac Giang Province harvested more than 176,000 metric tons of lychees in the year to July 5, meeting 97.8 percent of the full-year target.

Of the total, over 81,000 metric tons was sold at wholesale markets and outlets nationwide and 94,600 metric tons was exported, including 91,100 metric tons to China, 252 metric tons to Japan, 70 metric tons to Australia, and 32 metric tons to the U.S..

Besides fresh lychees, Bac Giang has produced and shipped dried lychees, lychee juice, frozen lychees, and canned lychees.

In Vietnam, fresh lychees are currently priced at VND14,000-32,000 (US$0.6-1.4) per kilogram, while dried lychees cost VND35,000-45,000 ($1.5-1.9) per kilogram.

Tuoi Tre News