A farmer at Luc Ngan District harvests lychee for export to Japan. — VNA/VNS Photo Dong Thuy
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has granted a Geographical Indication (GI) certificate to lychees grown in Luc Ngan District in the northern province of Bac Giang, making it the first Vietnamese product to obtain the certificate in Japan, according to the provincial news portal.
Le Anh Duong, chairman of Bac Giang People’s Committee, said this was good news for local lychee farmers.
The GI certificate proved the quality of Luc Ngan lychee has international standards and then opening up for the lychees to be shipped in Japan and other markets with strict import standards, Duong told Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.
In 2020 alone, about 200 tonnes of Luc Ngan lychees were exported to Japan, statistics from the provincial Department of Industry and Trade revealed.
Earlier, the Luc Ngan lychee won trademark protection in China, Laos, Cambodia, South Korea, Singapore and Australia.
Trade experts said lychee farming households and processing facilities with GI certificates registered in overseas markets would be able to increase sales, improve incomes, and contribute to regional socio-economic growth. This in turn would help build the reputation of Bac Giang’s other products and Vietnamese goods as a whole in foreign markets.
Luc Ngan District is home to more than 15,000ha of lychee, mostly in Hong Giang, Tan Son, Quy Son, and Giap Son communes. Of which, several lychee growing areas fall in line with Global Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP) and Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) to produce high-quality organic products for domestic consumption and export.
By the year-end, the province hopes to increase the total cultivation lychee area to the Japanese market to approximately 219ha, generating 1,500 tonnes, said Dang Van Tang, head of the provincial Sub-Department of Crop Cultivation and Plant Protection.
The department will continue to work with enterprises to expand the number of growing areas to be granted codes for export to Japan, and at the same time improve the quality of lychees to meet requirements, Tang said.
He added co-operation with other ministries to build more facilities for export lychee fumigation and sterilisation would be also included. — VNS