Chinese traders come to buy, lychee prices skyrocket

On the morning of May 18, Mr. Tran Van Cong in Tan Yen district (Luc Ngan, Bac Giang) carried a basket of lychees weighing more than 100 kg to sell. After several discussions with traders, he settled on a price of 70,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Cong said that his family has been picking and selling lychees for over a week now. The price of this fruit increases every day. Yesterday, grade 1 products like his sold for nearly 60,000 VND/kg, before that the price was only 40,000-45,000 VND.

“This year, the main crop of lychees was almost completely lost, but the yield of the pink lychees was quite good. My family has 2 hectares, fortunately half of the area is used to grow pink lychees, so this season is okay because the selling price is very high,” he said.

This year's lychee crop failed, but the selling price is very high. Photo: Thach Thao

The owner of a lychee purchasing warehouse in Luc Ngan (Bac Giang) admitted that the price of this fruit is increasing every day. In particular, Chinese traders come to Bac Giang to buy lychees to bring back to their country, so this item is "selling like hotcakes" because they buy in very large quantities.

In Bac Giang, the lychee crop failed this season, and China also suffered a similar situation, causing a sharp drop in output. Therefore, the price of lychee this year will certainly be more expensive than previous years, the purchasing warehouse owner said.

Speaking with VietNamNet reporter , Mr. Nguyen Van Hai, Vice Chairman of Luc Ngan District People's Committee, said that Chinese traders have come to Luc Ngan to consider purchasing lychee for export.

In 2023, there will be more than 200 Chinese traders coming to Luc Ngan to coordinate the purchase of specialty lychees. This billion-people country is also the main export market for Vietnamese lychees.

During a visit to the lychee growing area in Bac Giang in early May, Mr. O Quoc Quyen - Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam - shared that lychee is one of the fruits that is especially loved by the people of this country.

The Chinese Embassy in Vietnam will continue to cooperate and support Bac Giang province, and coordinate with Vietnamese authorities to facilitate lychee export to the Chinese market.

According to Mr. Hai, early tea lychee is in the harvest season, with an estimated output of 17,000-20,000 tons, only 50% of last year's output due to crop failure. However, the price of lychee is very high. On average, people are selling it for 50,000 VND/kg.

Warehouses are busy purchasing lychees. Photo: Thach Thao

It is forecasted that the total lychee output of Bac Giang province this year will reach 100,000 tons, of which the lychee export output will be about 70,000 tons, mainly to the Chinese market.

In the lychee "capital" of Hai Duong, Ms. Hoang Thi Thuy Ha, Vice Chairwoman of Thanh Ha District People's Committee, said that lychee output reached over 20,000 tons of fruit, equal to 50% of the output in 2023. Although lychee output decreased, the quality of lychee was improved, so the price of lychee is expected to be 10-20% higher than previous years.

In Thanh Ha district, many areas of white and spiny lychees are ready for harvest. The selling price of white lychees in the garden ranges from 80,000-100,000 VND/kg, while spiny lychees cost from 40,000-50,000 VND/kg.

"This is considered the year with the highest selling price of lychee compared to recent years," Ms. Ha affirmed.

Regarding export activities, the Vice Chairman of Thanh Ha District People's Committee said that on May 14, the first batch of Thanh Ha lychees in 2024 was exported to Australia by air. Previously, businesses had also raised the issue of exporting lychees to France, Thailand, Singapore, Canada, etc.

Thanh Ha district currently has about 20 large and small weighing stations located mainly in Thanh Quang and Thanh Cuong communes. Lychees are being exported smoothly to China./.

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