The Central Group Viet Nam has shipped the first batch of fresh thieu lychees to Thailand from the northern province of Bac Giang’s Luc Ngan District.

The fruit is available at the Central Food Retail Co’s Tops and Central Food Hall supermarkets in Bangkok.

This represents opportunities for Vietnamese fruit producers to access the potential market, especially after import duties are removed as the ASEAN Economic Community comes into effect, the company said in its statement.

Dang Hoang Hai, head of European Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, spoke highly of the company’s first lychee shipment to Thailand, and said that it would lay a good foundation for gaining the trust of Thai consumers for Vietnamese fruit.

Later this month, the ministry and the Central Group Viet Nam will organise a Vietnamese Goods Week in Thailand, introducing high-quality products, including farm produce, to Thai people, Hai said.

In June, Luc Ngan lychees were sold in the Central Group Viet Nam’s Big C supermarkets across the country at promotional rates.

Around 158ha of land in Luc Ngan District, the largest thieu lychee-growing region in Bac Giang Province, is dedicated to producing some 1,600 tonnes of lychees that meet GlobalGap standards.

According to Bac Giang Province’s Department of Industry and trade, the province’s lychee production is estimated to hit 100,000 tonnes this year, equivalent to 70 per cent of the previous year’s output. — VNS