Bangkok (VNA) - The first batch of Bac Giang lycheesexported to Thailand via the official channel has been introduced to Thaiconsumers by The Mall Group at its seven shopping malls.
Vietnamese lychees were already present in Thailand a few yearsago, but this is the first time that the fruits are on sale at a majorsupermarket chain in the country.
This batch of Bac Giang lychees, exported to Thailand by Vifococompany, is sold at Gourmet Market stores, which specialise in food andhousehold items.
Chairman of Vifoco Nguyen Xuan Viet said he is happy to be oneof the pioneering firms to bring fresh lychees to Thai consumers.
He added that his company hopes to export from 1,000 – 2,000tonnes of fresh lychee to Thailand next year.
At the Siam Paragon shopping mall, the lychees from Vietnam haveattracted attention from many shoppers. Thitikorn, a local consumer, said inhis opinion, Vietnamese lychees have thick flesh, are juicy and sweet, andprices are affordable, so they will be favoured by Thai people. Another shoppercalled Somsri Somta, said that she and her children tasted the Vietnameselychees and liked them very much.
For his part, Somkiat Wongsakulchai, chief executive of Ekthai,which distributes Vietnamese lychees in Thailand, spoke highly of the fruit’squality and stated that the company will expand the distribution of Vietnameselychees to more branches next year.
He added that his company will also import mango from Vietnamnext year.
Lychee is grown in many localities in Vietnam,mostly in the north, with BacGiang province known as the country's lychee growing hub.
The province harvested 199,500 tonnes of lychee in 2022 andearned nearly 6.8 trillion VND (290.5 million USD) from lychee sales andsupport services, according to the provincial People’s Committee.
Bac Giang lychee has affirmed its brand and valuein many countries and territories around the world with 75,900tonnes shipped abroad, making up 38.1% of the accumulative sales./.