Bringing Thieu lychee to the US: a long journey surpassing the geographic distance of 13,000 km

Seeking potential in the pandemic 

Being the hardest-hit locality in the 2021 Covid-19 outbreak, Bac Giang proactively drew up three strategies for consumption right before the very first Covid cases found when Luc Ngan district enter the thieu lychee harvest crop. Besides, it formed field supporting groups at Lang Son border gates for shipment to China under the slogan “Prioritizing green lane for thieu lychee”, as a result, as many as 200,000 tons of thieu lychee of the 2021 year harvest were consumed. 

Hardly a bountiful crop that Bac Giang had experienced like that of the previous. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, prices of thieu lychee purchased at the garden were VND 20,000-25,000 per kg, above the estimate of VND 15,000 per kg. After the lychee was brought to Japan, the province marketed and planned to introduce its uniqueness to another demanding market, the US. 

The fruitful outcomes were a combination of numerous variables, including the engagement of Golden Lotus Group Company, under Sun Hee DC Group, which plays the role of an “ice breaker”. 

Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc, Deputy Director of Golden Lotus shared: “During the pandemic epidemic in Bac Giang last year, it was evident to observe the efforts and quick-witted of Bac Giang authorities in mobilizing all resources from promotion activities to the resolution of circulation during social distancing. It motivated us, who aim to spread the value of Viet agricultural products”. 

It was a long journey from the desire to bring lychee to the US to building up plans and managing the implementation. It was not only the geographic distance of 13,000 km but the technological barriers, freight ship as well as several processes from the reservation, processing to maintain the freshness of the fruit like that of the newly-picked. 

Golden Lotus realizes that and rapidly builds a network of links with Vietnam Post Corporation (VnPost) to assure domestic transportation; Vietnam Airlines (Vietnam Airlines) for the best freight prices when shipping products to the US. 

Ensuring the domestic stage, Golden Lotus started seeking partners in the US, before picking Emission Resource Group (ERG). The People's Committee of Bac Giang province met with VnPost, and ERG for the first time on March 18 due to Golden Lotus's assistance and connections. During the meeting, Chairman Le Anh Duong reaffirmed the province's will to expand agriculture, highlighting the importance of developing traditional agricultural goods, lychee in particular. 

In addition, Mr. Duong views environmental treatment as a future priority for the province. Currently, there are six industrial zones in Bac Giang, which necessitates access to current waste treatment technologies that are efficient, safe, and rapid. This is also a strength of ERG, and cooperation with ERG is wanted by this unit. 

Le Ba Thanh, Deputy Director of the Bac Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated that in the next years, the province would stabilize the lychee producing area in the region at around 28,000 hectares, with an expected total production of 160-180 thousand tons. During the peak season, the daily consumption demand for this product is between 5,000 and 7,000 tons. 

Two weeks of "fire red" 

The Bac Giang Provincial People's Committee, Golden Lotus, and associated groups have demonstrated a willingness to export lychee to the United States, but it will not happen immediately. In 2021, the cost of transportation by air was around USD 5 to USD 6 per kilogram, while by sea it took 30-35 days, placing a huge amount of pressure on preservation technologies. 

In addition, for a product to reach the US market, it must have an FDA identification number; conform to requirements on labeling, packaging, additives, sampling, and inspection criteria; and have third-party training certifications on cultivation, preservation, and packing techniques. Regarding fruit preservation, exporting businesses must additionally construct or partner with a focused preparatory processing center. In particular, the foremost necessity is that agricultural goods must be chilled from the outset in order to preserve their worth and quality during shipping. 

To export fresh lychee to the United States, the fruit must undergo a lengthy journey: road transport from Bac Giang to Hanoi, then air transport to Ho Chi Minh City, followed by irradiation. The United States has authorized and certified the irradiation center. This is a must for bringing fresh fruit into this competitive market. Lychee fruit must go through a total of around 50 hours between harvesting in the garden, initial processing, packing, shipping, and irradiation. Any mistake on the part of a link can double or even treble the length of this travel. 

When Golden Lotus, ERG, VnPost, and the province of Bac Giang initially convened, they had less than two months to finish a massive compilation of work. Throughout the following two weeks, the contacts' phones were constantly ringing with a series of negotiations regarding the offering, extending the market, and expanding the group of approved agricultural products to the United States (including pomelos). 

Under the guidance of Mr. Pham Quang Huy, Vietnam's Agricultural Counselor in the United States, the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in March 2022 in Bac Giang. 

One of the main contents of this MOU is that ERG is responsible for finding outlets in the US and neighboring countries for agricultural products of Bac Giang province, firstly, lychee that meets the quality standards required by the country. import country.

In addition, the American partner is responsible for establishing connections with VnPost and other partners introduced by the People's Committee of Bac Giang province in order to purchase, preserve, process, and carry out export procedures for the province's agricultural products, particularly fresh lychee. 

Cooperating to raise the value 

According to a field study conducted this year in a thieu lychee production region in the Luc Ngan district, some cooperatives have committed to product underwriting at prices of VND 35,000 per kilogram, which is 1.5 times more than the previous year's rates. However, this is just one-tenth of the price of lychee in countries such as the United States, the European Union, or Japan. 

It is difficult to increase the value of lychees while maintaining price competitiveness in the export market. 

According to Deputy General Director Ho Thi Ngoc, lychee may also be farmed in California, where many overseas Vietnamese reside. This product's pricing is really competitive, however, its quality and design are inferior to Luc Ngan lychee. 

"Short-term, lychee produced in the United States will be directed to the Vietnamese overseas market in this nation in order to relieve their homesickness. By strengthening Vietnam's cultural and culinary links and exchanges in the United States, bilateral collaboration would be strengthened "added Ms. Ngoc. 

Ms. Ngoc assessed that exporting agricultural goods to large markets such as the United States is a growing trend and asked for the active engagement of several stakeholders. In which farmers must plant correctly and consistently while controlling pesticide residues effectively. In addition, state management agencies must establish the circumstances and resources necessary to arrange production according to market signals.