Fruits from orchards certified for export fetch VND25,000-30,000, but are still much lower than the VND35,000-40,000 seen at the start of the season.
Luc, a veteran lychee grower in the northern Bac Giang Province’s Luc Ngan District, Vietnam’s largest producer of the fruit, said prices have fallen by a third from last year.
His one-hectare orchard has produced high-quality lychees this year, but he would barely break even if prices do not increase, he said.
According to growers, it costs VND8,000-12,000 to produce a kilogram of the fruit, including packaging.
In the south, the fruit retails for VND25,000-40,000 per kilogram, down nearly 30% from earlier this month and just half the price a year ago.
According to Giang, a farmer in Hai Duong Province’s Thanh Ha District, another large lychee producer in the north, prices are down due to a surge in output and competition from other tropical fruits, which are also in season.
Exports of the fruit plummeted 26.6% year-on-year in the first four months of this year as 17 markets reduced imports, including drops of 84% and 40% in buying by the Netherlands and France.
This is despite 25-116% increases in imports by some other markets like the U.S. and China.
The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said higher transportation costs due to tensions in the Middle East are partly to blame for the fall in imports.
China also ramped up exports of its lychees, competing with Vietnam in the international market.
This year Vietnam’s lychee output is estimated at around 250,000 tons, a 25% increase from last year, with Bac Giang accounting for 165,000 tons.
Since the start of the season that province has only sold 13,000 tons locally and exported little.
Its Department of Industry and Trade is urging businesses to process the fruit, such as by drying, juicing or freezing, to diversify sales. The province also launched a promotion program in Hanoi and HCMC on Tuesday.
