Early-season lychee farmers in Northern Vietnam are expecting a bountiful harvest and good prices this year. The lychees are expected to be of high quality and fetch competitive prices, an improvement from last year’s yields.
Early-season lychees are sold at VND 35,000-50,000/kg
In Tan Yen district, Bac Giang province, weighing stations and traders have started purchasing lychees for distribution in domestic markets and export. According to the Bac Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, due to a unique microclimate, lychees in Tan Yen ripen earlier than in other areas, with harvests beginning in mid-May, while other regions like Luc Ngan don’t peak until June.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thiet, Director of the Early Lychee Production and Consumption Cooperative in Phu Hoa, Tan Yen, Bac Giang, shared that the cooperative will officially start harvesting early-season lychees in about five days, with an expected output of 450 tons.
Over a month ago, the Phu Hoa Cooperative signed two export orders to China at VND 35,000/kg (one order for 50 tons and another for 20 tons). Mr. Thiet acknowledged that the price is relatively low compared to the current market rate of VND 35,000-40,000/kg. However, he remains committed to honoring the contract, believing that there will be better opportunities in the future.
According to Mr. Thiet, the price of early-season lychees this year, ranging from VND 35,000 to 50,000 per kg, is double that of the previous year (around VND 20,000/kg in 2023).
Early-season lychees start appearing in Hanoi’s fruit stalls
Mr. Thiet added that many Chinese traders have recently contacted the cooperative with purchasing intentions. However, as the harvest is still a few days away, he has not yet invited them to visit.
The early-season lychee harvest is expected to last about a month, from now until mid-June. This year, Tan Yen district has over 1,300 hectares of lychee trees, with Phu Hoa alone accounting for more than 700 hectares. The district’s total output is estimated to reach 10,000 tons.
In Luc Ngan district, farmer Vu Van Men from Dong Giao village, expects to harvest about one ton of early-season lychees around May 22. While many traders have expressed interest, he has not signed any contracts yet, hoping for better prices than last year.
In Thanh Ha district, Hai Duong province, the early-season lychee harvest is expected to begin on May 25, with prices projected to be nearly double last year’s, according to some traders and enterprises.
In Hanoi’s markets, early-season lychees are currently sold at VND 40,000-70,000/kg, depending on the variety. As the first lychees of the season, they are in high demand among consumers.
