Vietnam’s lychee production ended well, including support services to make $290 million.
More Countries Get a Taste from Vietnam’s Lychee Production
Bac Giang, a province in Vietnam successfully harvested lychees with a total production of 199,500 metric tonnes. The province exported a total of 75,900 metric tonnes. Even with the slump in domestic consumption because of the pandemic, lychee prices stayed stable.
Each kilo of the said fruit amounts to 22,100 Vietnamese dong (or $0.94). The total revenue for the country’s lychee production and accompanying services reached 6.78 trillion ($290 million), an increase of 12% from 2021.
The domestic consumption of lychee reached 123,500 metric tonnes, constituting 61.9% of the total production. The fruit has been sold throughout the country in supermarkets and groceries like Mega Market, Aeon, GO, and Hapro. The bountiful harvest is also available at domestic and foreign e-commerce platforms, such as Shopee, Voso, Alibaba, Sendo, and Amazon.
China might be the world’s largest lychee exporter, but Vietnamese lychee export reaches 30 countries. It includes the European Union, Japan, Australia, the Middle East and the United States, among others.
Many countries worldwide extremely consider lychees from Bac Giang because of their excellent quality. The fruit receives careful attention from local authorities to ensure its safety throughout the process. They also took different approaches to promote consumption and export.
Simultaneously, the province seriously backed local lychee export activities. It conducts online market matchmaking meetings and works to encourage the accessibility of Chinese buyers into the country.
Not So Good in Dragon Fruit Production
While lychee production made waves, dragon fruit production seems to have less luck. Vietnam’s Binh Thuan province exports almost 85% of its dragon fruit production. Chinese markets buy them through border trade schemes. However, due to China’s strict epidemic prevention systems, trucks and goods become stranded at border crossings. Merchants have no choice but to cancel their purchase contracts.
The oversaturation in the domestic market caused the price of the dragon fruit to plunge significantly. A kilo of white dragon fruits sells for 2,000–3,000 dong ($0.08–0.13). A kilo of red dragon fruits, on the other hand, sells for 3,000–5,000 dong ($0.13–0.21).
The short harvesting intervals for dragon fruit put high pressure on exporters. The dragon fruit takes around a month to mature. Lychees, on the other hand, take up to two months before harvesting. Once the peak production season comes, local government guidance on production, markets, and trade plays a major role in the industry.
Image Source: Quang Nguyen Vinh/Pexels
