Science, technology enhance litchi quality

Bac Giang Province, Vietnam’s litchi growing hub, recorded a yield of about 100,000 tonnes of fresh litchi during the 2017 crop season, a drop of 30 percent compared to a year ago. However, the application of science and technology has contributed to improving the quality of the fruit and its price.

At an August 2 conference on the 2017 crop, Tran Quang Tan, director of the Bac Giang Department of Industry and Trade, said domestic consumption of litchi reached 59,000 tonnes, 20,800 of them in the country’s south.

Bac Giang Province’s litchi yield in accordance with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards this season reached about 40,000 tonnes and 1,600 tonnes, respectively. Due to improved food safety and hygiene, more than 100 tonnes of litchi were sold through the Big C supermarket system, convenience stores in Hanoi and clean food stores under the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.

Tran Quang Tan also said litchi prices this year were up to VND70,000-80,000 per kg, a near doubling of last year’s figure. Bac Giang Province litchi exports to China through border gates reached about 25,900 tonnes. In addition, local companies exported more than 20 tonnes of the fruit to new markets in Australia, the Netherlands, the US, Dubai and Thailand.

By strengthening the application of scientific and technological techniques, Bac Giang Province has created distinct products, meeting domestic demand and serving exports. Specifically, authorities are hailing the research project on the status and technical measures to maintain and improve soil fertility in order to increase litchi productivity and quality in Bac Giang Province.

The research project implemented by the Institute of Geography under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in cooperation with the Bac Giang Department of Science and Technology has run since June 2016. Its sponsors say the project has proved its efficiency.

Bac Giang provincial leaders hope scientists of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology will continue to accompany the province in guiding farmers to apply advanced methods and techniques as well as expand effective models, contributing to increasing the productivity, value and quality of litchis.

Tran Quang Tan, director of the Bac Giang Department of Industry and Trade, says the application of scientific and technological methods has not only improved the quality of litchis, but has also gradually limited their seasonality.