A conference, held in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday, discussed how to promote consumption of lychee in the South.
The Ministries of Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development, People’s Committees of the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Hai Duong which are among the country's largest lychee- growing localities convened the conference.
Bac Giang and Hai Duong said that though the quantity of the fruit dropped compared to last year yet its quality is higher than as the provincial authorities encouraged farmers to apply advanced technologies in growing and expand the land for growing the fruit under the VietGAP and GlobalGAP standard.
Two provinces’ total quantity of the fruit is 170,000 tons, a decrease of 65,000 tons compared last year. It is sold VND30,000 per kilogram at the garden. Traders complained that consumption of the fruit in the South is facing difficulties because the transportation fee is high. Additionally, enterprises have not paid attention to provide a catchy brand name, attractive and eye-catching products and packing design.
A representative from Commercial and Management Company of Thu Duc Wholesale Market said that to promote consumption of litchi in the South, Bac Giang and Hai Duong Provinces should expand land for growing the fruit to meet VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards and enterprises need to focus on building brand name which guarantee farmers to protect their fruit and pay attention to its quality.
At the meeting, distributors expected that around 70,000 tons of litchi will be consumed in the South this year, an increase of 10 percent compared to last year through big supermarkets including Co.opmart, Big C, Lotte, Satra and wholesale markets.
In related news, Vietnamese litchi will be officially exported to Australia after it is treated properly as per Australia’s demand, said the Department of Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
