Procedures for lychee exports to Japan to be completed soon

Hanoi – The Plant Protection Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a teleconference with Japanese partners on May 14 to discuss the completion of procedures for the first exports of fresh lychee to this market.

Lychee trees in a farm in Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province, start to bear fruit (Photo: VNA)

MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said the Japanese side could authorise Vietnam to examine the for-export fruit under the Japanese Embassy’s supervision.

He noted with the Japanese side’s activeness and goodwill, Vietnam hopes to ship the first batch of lychees this year despite numerous difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

MARD, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam and the People’s Committee of Bac Giang province – the largest lychee farming hub in Vietnam – will shortly organise a ceremony to mark the export, he said, adding that MARD, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the two countries’ embassies have been coordinating closely to prepare for the shipment.

All technical issues for export have been solved, according to the Plant Protection Department.

This year, Bac Giang has more than 28,000ha of lychee with an estimated output of over 160,000 tonnes, up 10,000 tonnes from 2019.

In the nearby province of Hai Duong, 9,700ha of lychee there are expected to produce 45,000 tonnes of fruit. This locality has also kept strict monitoring of farming zones which have met standards of Japan, the US, Australia and the EU, and organised events to promote sale.