The "Vietnamese Lychee Promotion Event" is being held at CentralwOrld Shopping Mall in Bangkok, Thailand. — Photo courtesy of Central Retail

BANGKOK — Central Retail on Friday inaugurated the "Vietnamese Lychee Promotion Event" at CentralwOrld Shopping Mall in Bangkok, Thailand.

The event aims to introduce Thai consumers to premium, in-season lychees from Việt Nam, certified with GlobalGAP and geographical indication labels.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand, Phạm Việt Hùng, highlighted the importance of such events in promoting Vietnamese exports and strengthening trade ties between Việt Nam and Thailand, with a bilateral trade goal of US$25 billion by 2025.

Jariya Chirathivat, Executive Vice President of Central Group, emphasised Tops' commitment to sourcing top-quality products globally, noting that this is the seventh consecutive year Tops has promoted Vietnamese lychees in Thailand.

The event runs from mid-June to early July at 32 Tops Food Hall and Tops Market stores across Thailand.

Due to challenging weather, Bắc Giang Province's lychee production is expected to reduce by 30 per cent compared to last year's output. Despite that, Central Retail has maintained competitive prices to boost consumer support. Lychees are offered at a promotional price of 299 baht ($8.16) per kilo, down from 399 baht/kg.

Paul Le, Vice President of Central Retail in Việt Nam, expressed confidence in the export potential of Vietnamese lychees, thanks to improved cold storage and packaging techniques.

"With increasingly improved cold storage and packaging management, we believe Vietnamese lychees will soon be exported to many countries worldwide," he said.

"In the Thai market alone, Central Retail has successfully exported to Thailand continuously since 2017. Thai people now often wait for Vietnamese lychees in season to enjoy the world's best quality lychees." — VNS