Singapore (VNA) – Vietnamese lychee was officially put upfor sale in Singapore’s FairPrice supermarket chain, making the first year whenthe specialty fruit has been imported from the Southeast Asian country on alarge scale.

According to the Commercial Affairs Office under the VietnameseEmbassy in Singapore, nearly 50 tonnes of lychee have been shipped to Singaporevia Hai Phong Port so far, and the export volume is expected to reach 100tonnes this year.

Thanks to its good quality and eye-catching appearance, the fruithas quickly won over local consumers, leaving shelves in many supermarketsempty after only two weeks.

It was sold at 5 SGD (3.59 USD) per kg in the first week under apromotion programme, and 6 SGD in the next week.

Tran Thu Quynh, Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Singapore, saidsince early 2018, the office has worked with major Singaporean importers tointroduce the fruit, and held working sessions with Singaporean experts in lycheepreservation.

Over the past three years, the office has organised trips toVietnam for Singaporean fruit importers, including FairPrice whoserepresentatives directly examined Vietnamese lychee farms.

Since the beginning of this year’s lychee season, it hascoordinated with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the Department ofIndustry and Trade of Bac Giang province, dubbed as the kingdom of lychee inVietnam, to hold an online workshop promoting the fruit.

Quynh said the office plans to join hands with Bac Giang and HaiDuong provinces, and FairPrice to organise a Vietnamese lychee day in Singaporein the next crop.

With the support of Singaporean experts, it is designing leafletsintroducing the fruit in English, she added.

In 2020, Bac Giang has 28,000 hectares of lychee, including over 160,000 hectares for harvesting, up10,000 tonnes compared to the previous year.

The area of lychee produced according to VietGAP standard isestimated at 15,000 hectares with an output of 110,000 tonnes, accounting for53 percent and 69 percent of the total, respectively.

As many as 80 hectares of lychee are planted under GlobalGAP practices with anestimated output of 500 tonnes to serve high-end markets.

Meanwhile,Hai Duong is now home to 9,700ha of lychee, mostly in Thanh Ha district withabout 3,600ha and Chi Linh city with 3,900ha. The total lychee output isestimated at 45,000 tonnes this year. The early lychee harvest isestimated to be 20,000 tonnes and the main crop is about 25,000 tonnes./.