Pham Trung Kien, Saigon Co.op’s deputy general director, said fresh lychees arebought directly from the province and transported by specialised vehicles fordistribution to more than 700 outlets of Saigon Co.op, including Co.opmart,Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, Co.opSmile, and Cheers, so that customers, especially inthe central and southern regions, could enjoy them at reasonable prices.
Saigon Co.op will organise a “Vietnam Fruit Festival” in June and Julyfeaturing lychees and other fruit specialties at its outlets, and offerdiscounts and samples of the lychee to introduce and popularise it.
It will also collaborate with its partners to take the lychee to internationalmarkets, especially Singapore.
Tran Quang Tan, director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade,said his province is the biggest lychee grower in the country with 28,000haunder the fruit and an annual output of more than 150,000 tonnes.
All the lychees meet VietGap quality standards as well as standards in choosyexport markets, he said, adding that the fruits’ quality this year is thehighest so far since farmers recently started to apply advanced technologies.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam praisedSaigon Co.op’s effort to promote consumption of lychees cultivated in BacGiang.
He expected the retailer to also promote the consumption of other farm producefrom the north to bring seasonal products to consumers around the country.-VNA