Two reporters from Sai Gon Tiep Thi Newspaper visited two Chinese shops in Guangxi City in China last month and surprisingly found Vietnamese litchis were being sold there for CNY96 (VND305,760 or $15) per kilogram.

Sai Gon Tiep Thi said this is exorbitant compared to the VND13,000 to VND16,000 per kilogram that many Chinese traders have paid to buy fresh litchis of the best qualities from Vietnamese farmers in Luc Ngan District in the northern province of Bac Giang which is famous for its litchis.

For its part, state-owned Vegetable & Fruit Processing Company under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has suggested purchasing Luc Ngan litchis at only VND8,000 per kilogram for exporting.

According to Hoang Minh Phuong, the deputy head in charge of economic affairs in Luc Ngan District, farmers in the area have enjoyed a good harvest of 90,000 tonnes of litchis this year, which is 1.5 higher than the same period last year and 60 percent of this amount has been purchased by Chinese traders.

Tuoi Tre News - August 11, 2011