Poor harvest slashes lychee exports to China by 62%

Lychee is a popular Vietnamese product mainly harvested from April to June in northern provinces like Hai Duong and Bac Giang.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, the reason for this decline is a huge drop in supply due to this year’s poor harvest.

Reports from localities that grow the fruit indicate that this year’s production totaled nearly 200,000 tons, down 50% from the previous year.

Bac Giang Province saw output fall by half to 100,000 tons, while Hai Duong Province harvested 45,000 tons, a 23% year-on-year decrease.

Le Ba Thanh, deputy director of the Bac Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, noted that the province has never suffered such a bad harvest.

Bac Giang had consumed more than 85,700 tons of its lychees by the end of June due to high demand for the fruit.

Due to the lower supply this year, the fruit’s end-of-season price tripled from a year ago to VND180,000 (US$7.1) per kilogram in June. For rarer varieties like the egg-shaped lychee, prices rose as high as VND360,000 per kilogram.

This year, the fruit was only sold at supermarkets in the south for less than a month during its season, unlike in previous years when it was available for longer.

Vietnam exported a total of $23.6 million worth of lychees in the first half, down 46% year-on-year, according to the General Department of Customs.

Shipments to Japan and the U.K., two other large importers of Vietnamese lychees, also fell by 4% and 16% from a year ago, respectively.