Fresh Vietnamese lychees hit the shelves in Japan

Do Hoang Phuong, director of Toan Cau (Global) Import-Export Food Joint Stock Company, one of the enterprises exporting lychees to Japan, says the juicy fruit has won Japanese consumers’ trust for its superior quality, deliciousness, and safety.

“After the first successful consignment of lychees to Japan, which was highly appreciated by local consumers, we are continuing to purchase lychees for export to this market. On average, our company exports between four to six tonnes of the fruit every day to Japan,” Phuong says.

According to Nguyen Van Tho, deputy director of the Center for Industry and Trade Promotion of the Bac Giang Department of Industry and Trade, this year Japanese importers have agreed to import about 1,000 tonnes of lychees from Bac Giang. The 20-tonne batch shipped to Japan recently has been sold out in the market at the price of 1,650 Yen or US$15 per kilogram.

“We will ramp up the export of the fruit to this demanding market following positive feedback from importers and consumers,: Tho notes.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reports that so far this year about 50 tonnes of fresh lychees have been exported to Japan.

This year Bac Giang has developed 28,100ha of land under lychee cultivation which is expected to churn out 180,000 tonnes of fresh product. The lychee growing areas meeting the VietGAP and GlobalGap standards are 15,200ha and 82ha respectively.

Besides Japan, the United States and Australia are also Vietnam’s potential export markets of the juicy fruit.