China accounted for $27 million, 3.63 times up from June last year, according to customs data.
Even markets with high quality standards demands like France, Australia, the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. increased their purchases by two to five times.
In the first half of 2025 lychee exports were worth $45.4 million, up 92% year-on-year, with shipments to the top 10 markets rising by 10-2,000%.
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Lychees harvested in the former Bac Giang Province, northern Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh |
A fruit exporter said the fruit was well received by international consumers thanks to its affordable prices and high quality.
More growing areas meet Vietnamese and global quality standards like VietGAP and GlobalGAP as well as requirements in markets such as the U.S., Japan, and the U.K.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said modern harvesting and preservation techniques have improved the quality and shelf life of Vietnamese lychee.
Businesses partner with farmers to enhance productivity and quality in every step from planting to harvesting, he said.
Lychee is in season and selling for VND8,000-20,000 (31-76 U.S. cents) per kilogram at the farm gate, while those from orchards certified for export fetch VND25,000-30,000.
At the start of the season in May they were at VND35,000-40,000. It is sold abroad at VND200,000-300,000 per kilogram.
Lychee, a summer specialty in Vietnam, is mainly grown in the north, especially in the former provinces of Bac Giang and Hai Duong.
Many orchards in these two areas comply with quality standards and have been granted planting area codes, which are needed for export.
This year’s harvest is estimated at 250,000 tons of the fruit, up 25% from 2024, with Bac Giang accounting for 165,000 tons.
Luc Ngan, a major growing area in Bac Giang, is known as the country’s “lychee capital” with some 18,000 hectares under the fruit and an annual output of over 100,000 tons.
Luc Ngan lychees are famous for their large size and sweetness, which make them popular even demanding markets like Japan, Australia, the EU, and China.
Hai Duong, which became the first province to export the fruit to Japan in 2020, has nearly 10,000 ha of orchards. It is known for its Thanh Ha lychees, which have a thin skin, thick flesh, fragrance, and sweetness.
Hanoi and Quang Ninh and Hung Yen provinces also grow the fruit but on a smaller scale.
The Central Highlands and some southern provinces have experimented with cultivating the fruit, but find the unfavorable climate a hurdle.
