Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ (second from the right) and other officials visit the exhibition of Bắc Giang fruit. — Photo baodientu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ on Wednesday highlighted the importance of quality management and traceability for lychee, a speciality fruit of the northern province of Bắc Giang, to meet export requirements for China and other potential markets.

Huệ made the statement at a forum on the production and consumption of lychee and promotion of tourism, held in Bắc Giang Province as local growers started the lychee harvest season for the year.

Huệ asked relevant ministries and sectors to add local fruit and other products to the national list of agricultural products exported to the Chinese market. He also requested they provide Bắc Giang with market information and help the province expand domestic and foreign consumption through trade promotion programmes in foreign countries.

“We need to help Bắc Giang's businesses access modern technology to preserve and process lychee and develop tourism products,” Huệ said.

He said local authorities and partners in China need to strengthen trade connections to create the best conditions for Chinese traders to purchase lychee from the province and invest in agriculture and tourism services.

“Administrative procedures for Chinese partners must be simplified in order to assist the export of lychee to China in the shortest time,” Huệ said.

At the forum, Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Hà Nội Ho Doa Gin lauded the quality of Vietnamese lychee, saying it matches the tastes of Chinese consumers.

He said China would create favourable conditions for the import of the product.

Many large domestic distributors such as Saigon co.op and BigC also plan to purchase and sell Bắc Giang lychee.

A representative of Central Group Vietnam, which owns the BigC supermarket chain, said the group was actively supporting the production and sale of Bắc Giang lychee.

“This year's lychee season, we have committed to purchasing 350 tonnes nationwide. Today, Central Group Vietnam pledged to buy six containers of lychee to sell at Big C supermarkets and Lan Chi supermarkets, our strategic partner,” the representative said.

"One container will be exported to Thailand this year,” the representative said.

Deputy Chairman of Bắc Giang People's Committee Dương Văn Thái said the province was entering the first days of the 2019 lychee harvest.

“We are committed to creating the most favourable conditions to assist growers, businesses and both domestic and foreign traders in the harvesting, processing and sale of lychee,” Thái said.

Bắc Giang is known as the largest concentrated fruit growing area in the North of Việt Nam with a total area of ​​nearly 50,000ha. Its 28,000ha of lychee are seen as the largest hub in the country with an annual output of more than 150,000 tonnes.

The brand name of Bắc Giang lychee is protected in eight countries including South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia. Last year, the fruit was certified by the Southeast Asian Records Organisation as one of the Top 10 specialities of Southeast Asia. — VNS