A farmer in Nam Dương Commune, Lục Ngạn District, Bắc Giang Province tends lychees  grown for export to Japan. — VNA/VNS Photo Đồng Thúy

 
BẮC GIANG — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has approved a proposal by the northern province of Bắc Giang People’s Committee on the entry of 309 Chinese traders to Việt Nam for lychees, as an exception to a blanket ban on foreign entries to Việt Nam in a bid to fight off COVID-19.

The traders are expected to enter Việt Nam via Hữu Nghị Border Gate in the northern province of Lạng Sơn, chairman of Lục Ngạn District People’s Committee La Văn Nam said.

Local police would pick up them at the border gate with the assistance of health workers and interpreters, then bring them to quarantine areas, Nam said, adding that there were 29 hotels with 338 rooms and 454 beds in the districts, which could accommodate a maximum of 750 people.

This year, lychees were grown on a total area of 28,100 ha in Bắc Giang Province and productivity reaches 160,000 tonnes, about 10,000 tonnes more than last year.

As much as 45,000 tonnes of lychees were ripe since early May, while the remaining 115,000 tonnes of lychees will ripen from mid-May to the end of June.

Vice director of Bắc Giang Province’s Industrial and Trade Phạm Công Toản said that due to the development of COVID-19 pandemic in Việt Nam and across the world, this year, the province planned to promote its lychees mostly in the domestic market, and only 40 per cent of the harvests would be for export.

The province also asked for permission for Japanese plant quarantine experts to come to Việt Nam to observe lychee processing procedures to make sure that they m Japan’s requirements for import.

On May 28, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, about a special entry mechanism for Japanese expert .

Accordingly, the ministry asked for an exemption of 14-day quarantine at hotels for these Japanese experts so the lychees could be exported soon.

The ministry committed to closely co-operate with People’s Committees of provinces of Bắc Giang and Hải Dương, as well as their health departments, to carry out proper disease prevention and control measures.

Japanese experts are set to arrive in Việt Nam on June 3 to examine and supervise phytosanitary measures for the lychees destined for the Northeast Asian market, according to the agriculture ministry.

This year will mark the first time fresh lychees of Việt Nam enter the demanding market of Japan. — VNS