Photo for illustration (Source: congthuong.vn)
It sold more than 164,000 tonnes of the luscious fruit from Luc Ngan, Luc Nam, Tan Yen, Yen The, Lang Giang, and Son Dong districts, raking in some 5.2 trillion VND, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade reported.
The average price of the fruit stood at 31,200 VND per kg, compared to 31,800 VND in 2019.
In the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, Bac Giang paid greater attention to promoting domestic lychee consumption, especially in the central and southern regions. As a result, up to 52.5 percent of its lychee output was consumed domestically.
As for export, apart from traditional markets such as China and the EU, Bac Giang’s lychee were also shipped to the demanding Japanese market for the first time, with export volumes reaching some 200 tonnes, helping to raise the value of the fruit.
According to Tran Quang Tan, Director of the department, the area of lychee grown under VietGap and GlobalGap standards increased from around 1,200ha in 2019 to 15,200ha this year.
The US has granted IRADS (Irradiation Reporting and Accountability Database) codes to 218ha while Japan has granted area codes to 19 areas with 103ha.
Notably, the province organised an online conference connecting 62 Vietnamese cities and provinces with four Chinese provinces, with 2,300 delegates in attendance, in order to seek ways to promote lychee consumption.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Lai Thanh Son said Bac Giang commits to supporting domestic and foreign lychee growers and traders in harvesting, processing, and consumption.
An e-commerce floor for Bac Giang lychee has been launched to diversify marketing and trade channels, as the ravaging pandemic made it virtually impossible for foreign traders to come directly to the locality to buy the fruit.
More than 130 customers purchased some 2,100 tonnes of lychee via the platform, at an average price of 64,700 VND per kg.
It was a surprise that more than 8 tonnes of lychee sold out after just eight hours of being available online via MoMo e-wallet, the Saigon Union of Trading Co-operatives (Saigon Co.op) said.
The sales were part of the post-pandemic “Supporting Vietnamese Farm Produce” programme run by Saigon Co.op, MoMo, and the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
The online event offered MoMo users discounts and delivery services when buying lychee and ST Xuan Hong rice.
In the first three hours of the program being opened, every customer ordered an average of 5 - 10 kg of lychee, and the figure then later escalated to 30 - 50 kg and even to a record 90 kg./.
Vietnamese shirmp sells well in US, China despite COVID-19
Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the United States and China witnessed a gradual increase during the first six months of the year despite the negative impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Radio the Voice of Vietnam.
Photo for illustration (Source: baodautu.vn)
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnamese shrimp exports reached USD1.5 billion during the past six months, an increase of 5.7% from the same period last year.
These statistics can be viewed extremely positively as the COVID-19 epidemic is still developing in a complicated manner in a number of major markets across the world.
Moreover, the export of shrimp to the US and China is likely to continue growing during the final months of the year.
The export value to the US between January and June saw a rise of 29% to reach USD323.3 million. Indeed, the US remained the largest import market for local shrimp, making up 21.2% of the country’s total export value.
Vietnam’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed its shrimp to become more competitive within the US market.
Most notably, recent months have seen Vietnamese shrimp exporters overtake their competitors from India and Ecuador, largely due to both countries failing to return to normal production as they are still struggling with the outbreak.
However, India has remained the US’s largest shrimp supplier for several years, accounting for 40% of total shrimp imports to this market.
Elsewhere, the country’s shrimp exports to China during June enjoyed an increase of 23% to USD57.7 million.
This is largely due to China’s major shrimp suppliers facing difficulties following the northern neighbour suspending its imports from three Ecuadorian companies after the detection of COVID-19 traces on product packaging.
Furthermore, Indian shrimp suppliers are also facing numerous challenges as their shipments to China have faced delays in customs clearance at Chinese ports due to the COVID-19.
In contrast, shrimp exports to both Japan and the EU endured slumps during the reviewed period. June saw shrimp exports to Japan drop by 3.7%, despite positive growth of 1.9% to USD278.2 million in the past six months.
Meanwhile, exports to the EU hit USD200 million, representing a fall of 7% compared to the same period last year.
The VASEP noted that Vietnamese shrimp prices tend to increase during the second half of the year. At present, inventories in key markets such as Japan, the US, and the EU are not as high as in previous months. Therefore, Vietnamese shrimp exports are expected to continue to record positive growth.
Vietnam Airlines launches Dien Bien - Hai Phong flights
Vietnam Airlines recently launched a new domestic route linking the northwestern province of Dien Bien and the northern port city of Hai Phong.
Delegates congratulate the crew of the first Dien Bien - Hai Phong flight (Photo: baophapluat.vn)
Four return flights will be conducted each week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
Flights depart Hai Phong at 12:05pm and Dien Bien at 2:10pm.
According to Vice Chairman of the Dien Bien Provincial People’s Committee Le Thanh Do, the launch of the new route is significant in implementing the Party and State’s policies on prioritizing the development of domestic tourism in the context of COVID-19, which is hitting all sectors hard, including aviation and tourism./.