HÀ NỘI — As another lychee season gets underway, Bắc Giang Province has already successfully exported 3.5 tonnes of its early ripe lychees to Germany.

This is the first batch of Bắc Giang lychees sent to Germany this harvest season, exported by a local company, Vifoco Import Export Joint Stock Company.

The lychees are harvested in Quất Du 2 Village, Phúc Hoà Commune inTân Uyên District, which has been granted growing codes.

Vifoco’s Director Nguyễn Xuân Việt said that Germany is a highly regulated but potentially large market. The successful export of lychees to Germany will open up further opportunities for exporting into European markets.

He added that the company has already signed contracts to export a total of 70 million tonnes of lychees to Germany and 30 tonnes to Thailand this season.

The company signed a cooperation agreement with Phúc Hoà Commune, stipulating that lychee plantations will be organised to meet quality standards in five years.

According to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, as of Wednesday, Bắc Giang has sold around 30,000 tonnes of early ripe lychees, of which 14,000 tonnes are from Tân Uyên District.

The lychee growing hub has also already exported 13,000 tonnes of lychees, mostly to the Chinese market, which accounts for more than 12,000 tonnes.

Lychee prices are high at around VNĐ35,000 (US$1.38) – VNĐ65,000 per kg.

There are 223 lychee growing areas granted codes for export in Bắc Giang Province.

The province’s lychee output is expected to total 100,000 tonnes this year, 70 per cent of which will be exported.

Bắc Giang lychees have been exported to more than 30 markets so far.