Chinese traders officially came to Vietnam to buy lychee this year. This specialty fruit has just entered the harvest. Farmers picked lychees early to sell them at high prices.
On the morning of May 18, Mr. Tran Van Cong in Tan Yen district (Bac Giang province) carried more than 100 kg of lychees for sale. After negotiating with traders, he closed for 70,000 VND/kg. Mr. Cong said that his family has been picking and selling pink lychee for more than a week. The price of this fruit increases day by day. Yesterday, lychee type 1 was sold for nearly 60,000 VND/kg, while the price was only 40,000–45,000 VND previously.
“This year, the main lychee crop is poor. My family has 2 hectares. Luckily, half of the area is pink lychee. Our income this season is quite good because the selling price is very high,” he said.
The lychee harvest this year is poor, so the price is very high.
The owner of a lychee purchasing point in Luc Ngan (Bac Giang) said that the price of this fruit is increasing day by day. In particular, Chinese traders come to Bac Giang to buy lychee in large quantities to bring home, so this item is selling like hotcakes. The same poor crop in China has caused production to fall sharply. Therefore, the price of lychee this year will certainly be more expensive than in previous years.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Luc Ngan, said that Chinese traders had come to the district to buy lychee for export. In 2023, more than 200 Chinese traders came to Luc Ngan to buy specialty lychee. The billion-population country is now the main export market for Vietnamese lychee.
During a visit to the lychee-growing area in Bac Giang in early May, Mr. O Quoc Quyen, Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, shared that lychee is one of the fruits that are especially favored by Chinese people. The Chinese Embassy in Vietnam will continue to support Bac Giang province and coordinate with Vietnamese authorities to facilitate the export of lychee into China.
According to Mr. Hai, lychee is in the early harvest. The output is estimated at 17,000–20,000 tons, only 50% higher than last year’s production due to crop failure. But in return, the price of lychee is very high. On average, farmers are selling lychee for 50,000 VND per kg.
Farmers are busy selling lychees.
It is forecast that the total production of lychee in Bac Giang province this year will reach 100,000 tons. About 70,000 tons of lychee will be exported, mainly to China.
In Hai Duong province, Ms. Hoang Thi Thuy Ha, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thanh Ha district, said that the output of lychee may reach over 20,000 tons, equal to 50% of the output in 2023. Despite the decrease in lychee production, the quality has improved. Therefore, it is expected that the price of lychee will be 10–20% higher than in previous years.
“This year is considered the year with the highest selling price compared to recent years,” Ms. Ha said.
As for export activities, Ms. Ha said that on May 14, the first batch of Thanh Ha lychee in 2024 was exported to Australia by air. Previously, businesses also raised the issue of bringing lychee to other markets, such as France, Thailand, Singapore, or Canada./.