Lychee harvest season gets underway in Hai Duong
A ceremony took place in Thanh Hai district in the northern province of Hai Duong on May 18 to mark the beginning of the local lychee harvest season and the first shipments this year of about 100 tonnes to Japan and Singapore.
Hai Duong (VNA) - A ceremony took place in Thanh Hai district in the northern province of Hai Duong on May 18 to mark the beginning of the local lychee harvest season and the first shipments this year of about 100 tonnes to Japan and Singapore.
It was the first of a series of events being held to promote its signature Thanh Ha lychee.
The ceremony saw the presence of Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, and provincial leaders.
Hai Duong is better placed to export lychee to Japan this year, as the Japanese side has authorised the Plant Protection Department to monitor the sterilisation of the fruit in Vietnam, according to Luong Thi Kiem from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Major exporters such as the Ameii Vietnam JSC and the Red Dragon Co., Ltd. have linked with local growers to purchase lychees for export to Japan, she added.
During this crop, Hai Duong will export 30,000-35,000 tonnes of the fruit to China, which has been its biggest buyer for many years. About 70 packaging facilities in the province have been granted codes for export to Vietnam’s northern neighbour.
The province also plans to ship around 1,000 tonnes of lychee to Japan, 1,000 tonnes in total to the US, Australia and Singapore, and 800-1,000 tonnes to Thailand, the Middle East, and Malaysia.
Hai Duong now has three facilities with qualified sterilisation equipment for the preliminary treatment and packaging of shipments to Japan. It is also home to a dozen lychee packaging facilities for exports to Australia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, the EU, and elsewhere.
Dubbed the “lychee capital” of Hai Duong, Thanh Ha district is harvesting the early-ripening lychee and the main-crop lychee will be ready for harvest from June 5. Total production is estimated at about 55,000 tonnes this year.
The fruit is being grown on 9,186 ha in the province this year, of which 1,000 ha has been granted VietGap certification and 450 ha GlobalGap, and 8,000 ha provided with growing area codes for export./.
