Increasing competitiveness for Vietnamese litchi in the US
Currently, Vietnamese lychee is being exported to over 30 countries and territories. Bac Giang province alone this year is expected to export more than 1,600 tons of lychee to fastidious markets such as the US and EU.
Bac Giang province has now focused on improving the quality and expanding the area of lychee grown according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards.
The major lychee growing areas of Vietnam are mainly in Bac Giang and Hai Duong. However, in the North, there is no irradiation center approved by the US side, causing lychees to be brought to Ho Chi Minh City for packaging and irradiation, which incurs many costs.
In addition, litchi fruit, if transported by sea, takes a long time, which puts pressure on preservation technology. As for shipping by air, the cost is high.
Sorting fresh lychee fruit products qualified for export at a company’s factory in Bac Giang. (Photo: VNA)
“The shipping and transit time to the US makes it difficult for businesses. If you want to go fast, the shipping costs are high, when the goods come here, they are not fresh anymore because during the transportation process, the products are irradiation, affecting long-term freshness, as well as not paying attention to packaging design,” said Ms. Jolie Nguyen, Director of LNS Import and Export Company, Houston, USA.
In addition, Vietnamese lychees are still mainly exported fresh and have to compete with litchi from China, even domestic lychees from the US.
“Left Vietnamese fabric shipping to the US by air, they have to sell for up to 17 – 18 USD/pound, sometimes up to 20 USD/pound, so it is very difficult for me to compete with them in terms of fresh lychee. In my opinion, there is only one way that I can compete with them in terms of processed litchi. Almost no processed litchi here,” said Tony Tran, director of Global Communication Services Enterprise, New Jersey state, USA.
“Bac Giang has worked with the Ministry of Science and Technology to propose to support Bac Giang in processing and preserving lychee products that can be stored for a longer time, to solve difficulties in the past time. When shipping by sea, it takes nearly a month, affecting the quality of the fabric,” said Mr. Tran Quang Tan, director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Bac Giang province.
To position the Vietnamese fabric brand in the US market, quality is always a top priority.
“Strictly ensure standards on growing area codes, origin, food hygiene and safety regulations, and import,” said Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Chief Representative of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Office in New York, America, comments.
In the coming time, in order to promote advertising and trade promotion activities, Vietnamese businesses will also open lychee stalls on domestic and international e-commerce platforms.
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at Blogtuan.info – Source: vtv.vn – Read the original article here
