Vietnam's lychee farmers find prosperity in growing trade with China

BAC GIANG, Vietnam, June 16 (Xinhua) -- From early morning, a steady stream of container trucks winds along the narrow road leading into Phuc Hoa commune, an early-ripening lychee hub in Vietnam's northern province of Bac Giang.

The trucks, loaded with freshly harvested lychees, head for the border gate en route to China, carrying more than just fruit.

For the commune's 7,000 residents, they represent a pathway to prosperity.

Each year, the commune produces about 10,000 tons of lychees, with 40 to 50 percent typically exported to China and peak years like 2024 seeing as much as 70 percent sent across the border, according to local officials.

Nguyen Van Ngoc, a 70-year-old farmer who has grown lychees since 1999 on his 0.56-hectare hillside plot with help from his son and daughter-in-law, sells his entire harvest to Chinese traders who come directly to the commune.

"Our annual yield is around 14 tons," he said, adding that "in years when more Chinese traders arrive, sales are much better."

His daughter-in-law, Nguyen Thi Duyen, said the Chinese market has transformed their lives.

"Since I started planting lychee in 1999, initially there were few traders, and selling was difficult, but ever since the Chinese traders came, it has become much easier to sell," she said.

"They prefer ripe lychees, and when we let them ripen, the lychees turn out really beautiful, with some years seeing Chinese buyers purchasing the entire orchard right at our garden."

Before Chinese buyers came, Duyen recalled, prices were very low, just 10,000 to 15,000 Vietnamese dong (about 0.4-0.5 U.S. dollars) per kilogram.

This season, lychees sold to Chinese traders are fetching 30,000 dong (1.1 dollars) per kilogram, three times higher than previous prices.

With a harvest of 13 to 14 tons, Duyen's family can earn up to 400 million dong (approximately 15,300 U.S. dollars) in a season that lasts less than one month.

"Since the Chinese market opened to us, things have improved not just for our family, but for many others," she said.

Thanks to better prices and stronger demand, the family has been able to build a new house, purchase a four-seater car, and support their children's education.

While domestic prices often fluctuate depending on crop yield, sales to Chinese traders have provided greater price stability.

Ngo Van Tiep, chairman of the communal People's Committee, said export prices to China are typically 15 to 20 percent higher than domestic rates and far more stable.

"The domestic market can be unpredictable, but China offers a reliable price point that local growers can count on," he said.■