Vietnam’s first official-channel lychee shipment arrives in UK

Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)

The first official-channel shipment of Vietnamese lychee imported by the UK’s TT Meridian Ltd has arrived in the UK.

Thai Tran, managing director of the company, said that it first imported early ripening lychee from Vietnam to compete with those from Mexico and China that are available in the UK market.

Notably, Vietnamese lychee is now packed with the image of the Vietnamese national flag on the package, which aims to promote Vietnamese brands and help consumers easily recognise Vietnamese products in supermarkets.

He informed that the whole process from harvesting the fruit at farms in Vietnam to selling it in the UK takes only 36 hours.

The demand for Vietnamese lychee in the UK is increasing thanks to its high quality and short season, cultural exchange activities, and trade promotion efforts, he said.

Vietnamese flag is seen on the package of lychee products exported to the UK. (Photo: VNA)

Trade Counselor in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong said that a big challenge for Vietnamese lychee exports to the UK is the preservation of the product. As lychee must be consumed within three days after being harvested to ensure freshness, exporters need to master post-harvest technology.

Vietnamese lychee is currently priced at 15 pounds (18.65 USD) per kilo in the UK, and Cuong said the high price is partly due to the fact that the fruit must be transported by air./.