(VOVWORLD) - Luc Ngan district in Bac Giang province is known as the largest concentrated lychee farming area in northern Vietnam. These days Highway 31, the main road leading to Chu town in Luc Ngan, is packed with traders. This year, local farmers are enjoying a bumper harvest and high prices.
|
 Lychees are harvested in Muoi hamlet, Luc Ngan district.
(Photo: Trong Dat, Vu Sinh/VNA)
|
This year the Luc Ngan lychee market feels different from previous seasons. Though the streets around the market are still crowded with vehicles and traders, there are no traffic jams because many farmers have not had to bring their lychees to the market. Traders came to their farm to buy theỉ fruit.
Lychee growers in Luc Ngan say the province’s output this year was more than 90,000 tons with record prices of up to 3.4 USD a kilo.
A farmer can earn a profit of several thousands of US dollars. Households growing lychees with organic methods enjoy much higher profits. People pay up to 8.6 USD for a box of 12 lychees with a stamp of origin.
Tran Van Hanh, an organic lychee farmer in Giáp Sơn commune, says: “It was easy to sell lychee this year. Thanks to the support of businesses, our organic lychees sold for the first time at higher prices.”
Cao Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of Luc Ngan district People’s Committee, said lychee quality this year is the best so far, so farmers earned more despite the lower output.
This is the first year Luc Ngan has piloted organic lychees to produce clean, safe products. The application of a modern production process has boosted Luc Ngan lychee prices three to seven fold.
Hoan said: “The model was implemented by 3 households. On-site sales to exporters and customers who want high-grade lychees have been strong. The entire organic production was monitored by cameras and can be reviewed from plantining and pruning, to harvesting and packaging. After this harvest season we will re-evaluate the new method in order to expand it.”
 Lychees are processed and packaged for exports in a workshop in Hong Giang hamlet, Luc Ngan district. (Photo: Trong Dat/VNA) |
The provincial Department of Industry and Trade said that around 50,000 tons of lychees were sold to China so far this year, netting nearly 130 million USD, 50% more than last year.
Luc Ngan lychees were exported to 30 countries and territories, 90% to China and the rest to demanding markets like the EU, the US, Russia, Canada, and Japan.
This year’s success is owed to the local administration’s efforts in trade promotion and close coordination among ministries, sectors, and localities in supporting Bac Giang farmers.
The farmers have embraced a safe agricultural production method, and businesses have joined together to build a lychee value chain.