[Audio] Where to buy standard lychee?

Foreign tourists come to the lychee garden in Thanh Son commune to visit and buy lychees.

Need to know the origin

Thanh Ha litchi has 2 types: early litchi and main-season litchi. Early litchi is grown mainly in the communes of Ha Dong area, namely Thanh Quang, Thanh Cuong, Thanh Hong and Vinh Lap. More than 100 years ago, people in Thanh Quang commune saw wild trees growing and were able to plant a hong litchi tree that bore abundant fruit. After many years, people in the village propagated this variety and grafted, crossbred, and created many other types of early litchi. In particular, early litchi only produces delicious fruit when grown in Ha Dong area because this place is surrounded by rivers and streams, alluvial deposits all year round, and fertile soil, so the litchi has a distinct, delicious flavor. Early litchi trees grown here have a good harvest every year. From Thanh Ha land, early litchi trees have been brought by people to grow in all regions of the country such as Bac Giang, Tay Nguyen... Although they have high productivity, early litchi in these areas tastes astringent and sour, and when peeled, they are watery and have large seeds.

Australian customers survey lychee garden in Thanh Ha

The main season lychee is grown in the Ha Nam area in the communes of Thanh Thuy, Thanh Son, Thanh Xa, Thanh Khe. Only in these communes is the main season lychee fragrant, sweet, and of guaranteed quality. Here is the original lychee tree in Thanh Son commune, which was brought back by Mr. Hoang Van Com to plant and then spread throughout the region. Many people who went to do business in all parts of the country also brought the tree with them and became rich in the new land. Similar to early lychee, the best main season lychee is grown in the Ha Nam area because the soil along the river is suitable.

However, when Thanh Ha litchis are in harvest season, litchis from other places are also being sold in the market. There is a situation where litchis from other places are brought to Thanh Ha to be mixed with the name Thanh Ha litchis. Ms. Nguyen Thi Van Anh (Hanoi) said: "I really like Thanh Ha litchis, but every year I have to ask my friend in Hai Duong to send them to me, I don't dare to buy them at the market. Many times when I buy litchis at the market, they are soft, watery, astringent, and not delicious." Litchis are in harvest season, so they are sold a lot in the markets, with unknown origins, making it difficult for unsophisticated consumers to recognize genuine Thanh Ha litchis.

A batch of Thanh Ha litchis is being irradiated in Ho Chi Minh City for export to the US (Photo provided by Red Dragon Production, Trade and Service Company Limited)

Superior quality

Thanh Ha district has 3,265 hectares of lychee (including early and main crop lychee), of which 500 hectares have been recognized as meeting VietGAP standards, 50 hectares meeting GlobalGAP standards. This lychee crop, the district has 45 lychee production areas with 168 export codes.

When talking about Thanh Ha litchi, we cannot fail to mention its brand name and its recognition for its outstanding quality. This is the only agricultural product of Hai Duong among 39 Vietnamese products with exclusive geographical indication protection in the EU market.

In 2007, Thanh Ha litchi was granted a geographical indication protection certificate by the Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology). Thanh Ha litchi was in the top 10 "Prestigious and quality products and services" voted by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Consumers Association. In 2015, Thanh Ha litchi continued to win the "Golden brand - Impressive logo and slogan 2015" award. The ancestral litchi tree in Thanh Son commune was recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization as "The oldest litchi tree in Vietnam". Thanh Ha litchi was honored by the Vietnam Association of Food Safety Science and Technology as the top 1 "Trusted and safe food brand in 2016" and the top 10 "Famous brands - Trademarks" voted by the Vietnam Association of Science and Entrepreneurs, Intellectual Property and Creativity Magazine in 2018.

Thanh Ha litchi is different from litchis from other places. Early litchis have large, juicy fruits. Main-season litchis have small fruits and small seeds. Both types of litchi have thick flesh, sweet, fragrant taste, not astringent, and when peeled, they are dry and do not wet your hands. Thanh Ha litchis are eligible for export to many demanding markets and are strongly consumed in the gift segment. Mr. Mai Xuan Thin, Director of Red Dragon Production, Trade and Service Company Limited, said that Thanh Ha litchis are a rare specialty, ensuring quality and good consumption abroad. On June 4, the first batch of Thanh Ha litchis with an output of 10 tons was exported to the US by sea. On June 7, the company continued to export a batch to Australia.

To help domestic consumers know more about Thanh Ha litchi and buy genuine products, the province and district continue to pay attention to and promote the image of litchi. Specialized agencies actively inspect and strictly handle cases of counterfeiting Thanh Ha litchi and deceiving buyers.

MINH NGUYEN