Hung Yen: Gardeners in Phu Cu district urgently prepare to harvest early ripening lychees

With the trend of early ripening combined with bright, beautiful appearance and characteristic sweet taste, Phu Cu early ripening hybrid lychee ( Hung Yen province) - a 4-star OCOP product - has become a specialty that attracts customers.

In a few days, the early-ripening lychee capital of Hung Yen province will enter harvest.

The lush green lychee gardens, laden with fruit, in Phu Cu district are gradually turning red. Currently, gardeners are urgently carrying out the final steps to supply the market with the first bunches of ripe, sweet lychee of the season.

Phu Cu district currently grows 1,200 hectares of lychee, including Phu Cu early-ripening hybrid lychee with 850 hectares and Hung Yen egg lychee with 350 hectares, produced according to VietGAP process.

Phu Cu early-ripening hybrid litchi is grown mainly in the southern communes of the district such as Tam Da, Minh Tien, and Tien Tien.

In the district, there are currently 3 areas that have been granted growing area certification with sufficient conditions for export to the markets of Japan, Korea, and Europe (areas granted OTAS codes).

Vice Chairman of Phu Cu District People's Committee Vu Xuan Thuy said that in the 2024 crop year, Phu Cu early-ripening hybrid lychee is expected to be harvested from May 25, 10-15 days earlier than other lychees on the market.

This year, despite the harsh weather, thanks to strict adherence to techniques and proper care, the fruit set rate is still high, with the expected fruit output of the entire district reaching 13,500-14,000 tons.

Special soil and climate conditions have given early-ripening hybrid lychee grown on Phu Cu land outstanding advantages: harvest time is 2 to 3 weeks earlier than the main crop lychee.

According to Mr. Vu Xuan Thuy, the early ripening trend combined with bright, beautiful appearance and characteristic sweet taste has made Phu Cu early ripening hybrid lychee an agricultural product that attracts customers.

Phu Cu early-ripening hybrid litchi is a product that was granted a trademark registration certificate by the National Office of Intellectual Property in 2016 and was ranked a 4-star OCOP product by the People's Committee of Hung Yen province.

In addition, every year, Phu Cu district also supports seeds and capital for people to grow lychee, and builds infrastructure such as roads to the fields so that cars can move easily during the season.

Tam Da commune is one of the communes with the largest early-ripening hybrid lychee area in Phu Cu district with over 300 hectares; of which, 50 hectares are 3.4-star OCOP products.

This year, the total output of the commune is estimated at about 6,000 tons. Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Da Commune, Tran Ngoc Dai, said that with the advantage of early ripening combined with bright, beautiful appearance and characteristic sweet taste, Phu Cu early-ripening hybrid lychee has attracted customers' tastes.

Currently, in the commune, there are about 20 gathering points to buy lychees, thereby creating favorable conditions for people and traders to buy and sell. These days, the family of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khoat, in Tam Da commune, Phu Cu district, is busy preparing for the early-ripening hybrid lychee harvest.

Despite the harsh weather, thanks to proper care and adherence to the right techniques, his family's lychee garden still has a high fruit set rate, promising a good lychee crop.

Up to this point, more than 100 lychee trees of his family have had traders come to buy lychee with an average selling price of about 25,000 VND/kg, higher than previous years, so his family is very excited.

According to Director of Minh Tien Agricultural Cooperative, Minh Tien Commune, Phu Cu District, Dong Thi Thu Huong, this year the weather is favorable for lychee trees to grow, many gardeners have a fruiting rate of over 80%.

Currently, some households have begun harvesting lychees to sell to wholesale markets in the province. It is expected that around May 25, the cooperative will start harvesting early-ripening hybrid lychees en masse.

Up to this point, the cooperative has also received open letters from import-export companies, wholesalers, and retailers. Members of the cooperative are completing the final stages, waiting for the lychees to ripen to supply to the market.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Hung, Director of BigGreen Vietnam Clean Food Limited Liability Company, said that with the advantage of early ripening and sweet quality, hybrid lychee from Phu Cu district has high value and is sought after by many consumers.

In the 2023 crop year, the company has signed a large order to consume Phu Cu early-ripening hybrid litchi and Hung Yen egg litchi, which have been trusted and chosen by many customers.

Therefore, this year the company plans to sign with large cooperatives to meet consumer demand.

Chairman of Phu Cu District People's Committee Nguyen Kha Phuc shared that in recent times, to build the Phu Cu early-ripening hybrid litchi brand, the district has focused on directing and guiding farmers to produce early-ripening hybrid litchi that meets VietGAP and OTAS standards and register OCOP products.

Along with guiding people to comply with production processes, local authorities coordinate with functional sectors to proactively link consumption, enhance promotion, introduce products, and connect product consumption markets for farmers.

"Phu Cu district commits to creating the best conditions to support people, businesses, and traders in signing contracts to harvest, process, circulate, and consume early-ripening hybrid lychees; at the same time, cooperatives, production facilities, and gardeners in the district continue to take good care of lychees until harvest, ensuring regulations on food safety, quality, and labeling during the harvesting and consumption process. Based on the lychee harvest time, the district will coordinate with the Department of Industry and Trade and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to organize a lychee market to maximize the event's effect on consumption this year," Mr. Nguyen Kha Phuc added./.

Source