(VOVworld) – Bac Giang is in the main harvest of lychees. To ensure steady sales and stable prices, local authorities have used trade promotions to enhance the Bac Giang lychee brand.

Late last month, 2 tons of lychees were irradiated before being exported to Australia by air and were available in Australia’s supermarkets the next day.

Lychees are currently priced at 28,000 VND - 30,000 VND (1.3 USD) per kilogram. (Photo: Phan Hau)

In 2016, Bac Giang has 30,000 hectares growing lychees with an estimated production of 130,000 tons, of which 53,000 tons meet VietGap standards.

Luc Ngan district, the largest “Thieu” lychee producer in Bac Giang, has 158 hectares of land producing about 1,000 tons of lychees to the GlobalGap standard, which will likely be exported to the US, Australia, and the EU.

Chu Van Bao, head of Luc Ngan’s agriculture section, says that thanks to the VietGAP-standard production model, the local lychees have improved to export quality.

He says “this year, Luc Ngan has more than 16,000 hectares growing lychees with an estimated output of 75,000 tons, down from last year. The district’s agriculture section has organized training courses to teach farmers how to increase product quality. The quality of Luc Ngan’s specialty has improved since the area growing lychees under VietGAP was expanded to 15,500 hectares, up more than 1,000 ha from 2015.”

The output of high quality lychees under VietGap and GlobalGap, national and international quality standards for farming products, is expected to increase in Bac Giang Province in 2016, meeting the demand of domestic customers and exports as well. (Photo: Biz Hub)

To improve conditions for lychee growers, Bac Giang has created more than 3,000 stations to collect, buy, and distribute lychees. The provincial authorities have pledged to streamline administrative procedures and ensure transport safety for foreign companies to get them involved in the lychee trade. A number of businesses have already signed contracts with farm households and cooperatives to purchase lychees under the VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. As a result, 40% of Bac Giang’s total lychee yield will be sold abroad this year.

Duong Van Thai, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said Bac Giang has increased communication and advertising and improved packaging, branding, and certificate stamping of Bac Giang lychees.

Bac Giang has worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to organize programs to boost lychee sales, to link farmers, distributors, and traders, and to develop a professional distribution system.

 “Bac Giang continues to boost trade promotion. Based on the lessons drawn from the previous program, we have attached importance to all markets instead of depending too much on a single market. We’ve focused on the domestic market. Bac Giang has coordinated with the People’s Committees of Hanoi, Lao Cai, and Lang Son to increase exports to China, and with Ho Chi Minh City to sell more to southern provinces,” says Thai.