Nearly 20 tons of fresh lychee transported by sea have been successfully imported and officially distributed to Safeway and Albertsons supermarkets in the West Coast states.
The Vietnam Trade Office in San Francisco said that: Following the success in bringing lychees into the supermarket system (Safeway, Albertsons, Winco, etc) in the US market in 2022, from Nov 2022, the Trade Office in San Francisco and the Vietnam Trade Office in Washington DC have cooperated with US agencies, home and abroad businesses to import fresh lychees of Vietnam for consumption in the US market, especially in the West Coast states.
Vietnamese lychees are displayed at Safeway supermarket.
Thanks to our great efforts, Dragonberry Produce Company (a US business based in Canby City, Oregon) has successfully imported nearly 20 tons of fresh lychees transported by sea into this country.
Vietnamese lychees are officially distributed to Safeway and Albertsons supermarkets in the West Coast states of the US, including Washington, Oregon, and California, on the occasion of American Independence Day on July 04.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in San Francisco, Safeway (https://www.safeway.com) and Albertsons (https://www.albertsons.com) are the largest supermarket chains on the West Coast of the US. Safeway has 913 stores and Albertsons has more than 300.
“Because the majority of our country’s fruit exports to the US are only able to access the small markets and supermarkets serving Asian consumers, the continued distribution of lychees to these supermarkets at competitive prices, 3.99 USD/pint, equivalent to 200,000 VND/kg, is a great success in promoting the consumption of Vietnamese fruits in general and lychee in particular in the US,” the Vietnam Trade Office in San Francisco said.
The price of 200,000 VND/kg is very competitive compared to fresh lychees imported from China and Mexico (being sold at the Asian market in San Francisco at 4.99 USD/lb, equivalent to 259,000 VND/kg), which are the two main suppliers and also the two biggest competitors of Vietnamese lychee.
Vietnamese fresh lychee marketed with the brand Golden Lychee, eye-catching package, attractive, professional, suitable for the psychology and tastes of consumers, along with competitive prices is expected to be chosen by US consumers.
To contribute to making Vietnamese lychee come closer to American consumers, the Trade Office in San Francisco cooperated with the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association in the US (VENUSA), organizations, and businesses to implement promotional and communication activities on channels, especially on social networks.
Vietnam’s lychee exports are promoted to the US market.
At the same time, we display and sell lychees at some markets for Vietnamese and Asian people. Tasting activities help more people get familiar with and love lychees, thereby promoting the consumption of this type of fruit.
However, the export of lychees to the US market still faces many difficulties, especially the lack of a US-recognized irradiation facility in the North of Vietnam.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in San Francisco, ensuring the conditions for fresh fruit export, especially lychee due to the short storage time, to this market is a big challenge.
Due to the lack of irradiation facilities under the US standards in the North, lychees must be transported to Ho Chi Minh City for irradiation, causing an increase in transportation costs, loss of quantity and quality, especially reducing the consumption time of lychees in the distribution system.
Therefore, the Vietnam Trade Office in the US, San Francisco branch recommended the agencies and units of the relevant ministries, as well as the Department of Agriculture of the US, solve this issue.
In addition, post-harvest preservation technology is still limited. There is no uniformity in the process of preliminary processing, packaging, storage, and transportation. Also, there is no stable control of temperature, humidity, etc. As a result, it is not guaranteed to extend the shelf life of fruits in general and lychee in particular./.