A box of 12 litchis with stamps of traceability is sold at 200,000 VND. (Photo:baobacgiang.com.vn)Bac Giang (VNA) – Farmers in the northern province of Bac Giangfinished this year’s litchi crop with a sigh of relief as earnings from the fruitand supporting services reach all-time high of over 6.5 trillion VND (281.1million USD).
The provincial Department of Industry and Trade reported around 147,030 tonnesof litchi were consumed in both domestic and foreign markets. Although theoutput only accounted for 68.1 percent of that in the 2018 crop, earning was1.2 trillion VND higher, standing at 4.6 trillion VND.
Average price of the fruit reached 31,800 VND per kilogramme, up 15,800 VNDfrom the previous crop.
Particularly, some households growing litchi with organic methods enjoyed much higherprofits as consumers were willing to pay some 200,000 VND for a box of 12 pieceswith stamps of traceability.
Cao Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the Luc NganDistrict People’s Committee, said the quality of the fruit this year has beenthe best so far. Therefore, farmers earned more despite lower output.
This has been the first year Luc Ngan districtpiloted planting organic litchi on an area of 20ha, providing clean and safeproducts. The application of a modern production process helped Luc Ngan litchifetch prices three to seven times over those of previous years.
Organic litchi is expected to win the preference of consumers in high-qualityand choosy markets globally.
Up to 79,618 tonnes of litchi were set aside for export, 99.1 percent of whichwas destined to China while the remaining, for the Middle East, the EU, Russia,the US, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand andAustralia, among others.
This year, Bac Giang province cultivated litchi on more than 28,000 hectares,comprising 13,855 hectares under VietGAP, 218 hectares under GlobalGAP, and 20hectares under organic standard.
China granted codes to 149 litchi growing areas in Bac Giang province, with atotal area of over 16,000 hectares. There are 86 packaging and processingfacilities qualified to export litchi to the East Asian country.
In the past time, Bac Giang province has instructed local farmers to expandtheir growing areas in line with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards so that the harvestsare safe enough to reach out to the world, especially markets that have strictrequirements in terms of food safety and hygiene like the US, Australia, the EUand Japan.
Meanwhile, the People’s Committees at the district level were urged to developcooperative models and enhance application of advanced technologies inproduction. Besides, constant supervision was made to ensure the exports wereprocessed in accordance with the set standards.
The northern region of Vietnam is ideal for litchiproduction. Warm weather in the summer perfectly complements the colder wintermonths that are essential to assure the successful development of the flowerbuds. Bac Giang is known as the largest concentrated fruit growing area in thenorth which has a total area of nearly 50,000ha. Its litchi areasare seen as the largest hub in the country with an annual output ofmore than 150,000 tonnes.
The brand nameof Bac Giang litchi is protected in eight countries including the Republic ofKorea, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia.
Last year, the fruit was certified by the Southeast Asian Records Organisationas one of the Top 10 specialities of Southeast Asia.
Vietnam iscurrently the second largest exporter of litchi in the world. Around 19 percentof the fruit consumed globally is grown right here.
Early signs forthe coming year are positive, but to stay at the top of the game, all involvedin the business must remain dedicated and innovative.
Only then will thefarmers continue to enjoy the sweet success of litchi and benefit from thefruit of their labour.-VNA
VNA
