The aforementioned seedless lychee crop was grown by Ho Guom-Song Am High-Tech Agriculture Co., Ltd. in Ngoc Lac (Thanh Hoa province) and imported into the UK by TT Meridian. TT Meridian is a company specializing in distributing lychees and other Vietnamese agricultural products in the UK.

Mr. Thai Tran, CEO of Meridian Center, said that although the retail price of seedless lychees is around 16-18 pounds/kg (approximately 480,000-540,000 VND) and 3-4 pounds higher than regular lychees, the company still decided to test importing this specialty fruit to assess market demand. After quality testing showed that the product has the characteristic sweetness of lychee, juicy and crisp flesh, and especially is seedless, it is suitable for consumers in the UK and Europe.

According to Mr. Thai Tran, the UK is a demanding market regarding agricultural product quality, but it is also very open to new advancements and innovations in agriculture. British consumers are not afraid to try new types and varieties of fruit, even if the price may be slightly higher than conventional varieties. If the quality and price of seedless lychees from Vietnam are well-received by the UK market, TT Meridian will import about 1 ton of fruit per week in June and July, the lychee season in Vietnam.

On June 16th, a shipment of seedless lychees arrived at TT Meridian's warehouse in London via the Just-in-Time process, ensuring freshness upon delivery to consumers. (Photo: VNA)

The director of TT Meridian added that for fresh tropical fruits imported from Vietnam, the company is applying a Just-in-time process (delivering the quantity of products according to the time and location requested by the customer) to ensure that the fruit reaches consumers while still maintaining its freshness. Under this process, the entire journey from shipment from the orchards in Vietnam to sale in the UK takes only 36 hours, including packaging and transportation from Vietnam, customs clearance, and distribution to retailers in the UK.

This batch of seedless lychees was harvested and packaged in Ngoc Lac (Thanh Hoa) on the evening of June 14th and kept refrigerated for 36-48 hours. The shipment completed air quarantine procedures at Noi Bai Airport and was transported on a direct Hanoi-London flight operated by Vietnam Airlines , arriving in London on the afternoon of June 15th local time. Afterward, the goods were cleared through customs and delivered to the Meridian Center warehouse on the morning of June 16th.

Meeting the Just-in-Time requirements is a collaborative effort by the producer, Ho Guom-Song Am High-Tech Agriculture Co., Ltd., international shipping partner Viet Brite, and importer TT Meridian to expedite procedures, from product sterilization and packaging, plant quarantine, transportation and import/export, to compliance with technical and commercial requirements in the UK, ensuring the product meets market circulation standards.

According to Mr. Thai Tran, seedless fruits are a growing consumer trend in developed countries and around the world. He recommends that Vietnamese agricultural exporters pay attention to this factor and regularly improve crop varieties to keep up with global trends, given that advances in science and technology in agriculture have helped Vietnam and the world invent and breed many high-quality fruit varieties.

Ripe lychees are bright red, have a crisp texture, a mildly sweet and refreshing taste, and are seedless, making them suitable for British consumers. Photo: VNA

According to information from the Thanh Hoa Provincial Electronic Information Portal, seedless lychees from Ngoc Lac are produced according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, achieving organic certification and meeting export standards to Japan, Canada, Europe, etc. Ripe lychees have a vibrant red color, crisp flesh, a mildly sweet and refreshing taste, and the skin does not scorch when exposed to sunlight, making them easy to preserve. This lychee variety is imported from Japan and has been developed and tested since 2019 in Ngoc Lac district on an area of ​​approximately 30 hectares by Ho Guom-Song Am High-Tech Agriculture Co., Ltd. in collaboration with the Institute of Agricultural Genetics. This is the first year the lychees have been harvested, with an estimated yield of over 20 tons. Currently, the company has propagated more than 20,000 lychee seedlings for grafting this valuable variety and plans to continue expanding in the coming years to meet the demand for high-quality agricultural products both domestically and for export.

VNA