Early sweet lychee season in Kbang

Lychee trees have been planted by Kbang people for more than 20 years. The whole district currently has about 160 hectares of lychee, concentrated in the communes of Nghia An, Kong Bo La, Kong Long Khong, To Tung, Lo Ku, Dak Smar, So Pai, Dong and Kbang town. People mainly grow dark, pink and egg lychee varieties.

At the end of April, the lychee trees of Ms. Tran Thi Bong's family (village 3, Nghia An commune) began to ripen and sell for high prices. Photo: Ngoc Minh

These lychee varieties have the advantage of ripening early, with harvest time from late April to the end of May every year. Because they do not coincide with the main lychee season in the northern provinces, the output is favorable.

Ms. Tran Thi Bong (village 3, Nghia An commune) said: In 2015, she took advantage of a plot of land of more than 40 square meters next to her house to plant 3 lychee trees. This is the 4th crop of lychee trees that have yielded fruit. Last year, the crop failed, each tree yielded only nearly 10 kg of fruit. This year, from the beginning of the season, her family watered, fertilized, sprayed pesticides to prevent pests and applied techniques to stimulate flowering and fruit setting, so each lychee tree yielded 70-90 kg of fruit.

“In previous years, lychees ripened in mid-May. This year, at the end of April, several lychee trees were ripe. Neighbors bought them all as gifts, to send to their children and grandchildren on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025). Tourists visiting Kbang saw many ripe lychees and asked to buy them, but I had no lychees left to sell. At the beginning of the season, I sold lychees in the garden for 40-45 thousand VND/kg. So far, I have sold them all, earning nearly 8 million VND, nearly 3 times higher than the previous lychee crop,” Ms. Bong said excitedly.

This year, the lychee garden can bring Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoang (group 3, Kbang town) a profit of more than 300 million VND. Photo: Ngoc Minh

At this time, the 200-tree lychee garden of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoang's household (Group 3, Kbang town) has begun the harvest season. Some lychee trees ripen early, Mr. Hoang selects the berries to supply the market. To avoid the heat and keep the freshness and beautiful appearance when they reach consumers, Mr. Hoang and his family pick the fruit early in the morning. As soon as he picks, he sells it to traders or fruit vendors at Kbang market.

“Lychees ripen less in the early season, so I mobilize my relatives to harvest them to reduce costs and provide consumers with the most delicious bunches of lychees. In about ten days, when the lychees are fully ripe, traders will come to the garden to buy them all at once. From now until the end of the season, if prices are stable and the output reaches 12-14 tons of fruit per year, my family will earn 300-360 million VND per year after deducting expenses,” Mr. Hoang calculated.

In order to increase income for lychee growers, build a brand and supply the market with delicious lychee, in 2021, the People's Committee of Kbang town established Tien Phong Kbang Agricultural Cooperative (HTX) with 14 members to grow more than 14 hectares of lychee according to VietGAP.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hue - Director of the Cooperative said: Most members have been attached to lychee trees for nearly 20 years, have experience, planting and care techniques. However, every year, staff of the district's professional agencies coordinate with the Cooperative to regularly organize training and practice in the garden, helping members have the opportunity to access reality, improve skills to apply in production.

“Thanks to good care techniques and suitable local weather and soil conditions, lychee trees produce quality fruit with beautiful appearance. When ripe, they have a sweet, slightly sour taste, thick flesh, and a lot of water, making them popular in the market.

From 2024 to now, HXT has signed a contract with Red Dragon Import-Export Distribution Company Limited ( Ho Chi Minh City) to purchase products for members, so there is no need to worry about output. Growing lychee brings a stable profit of 200-250 million VND/year for each member. Lychee trees bring higher income than some other crops in the district" - Mr. Hue informed.

Lychee trees have been planted by Kbang people for more than 20 years, bringing high income to growers. Photo: Ngoc Minh

Every lychee season, Ms. Pham Thi Nhu Linh, a fruit vendor at Kbang market (Kbang district), tries to "hunt" for as many sweet fruits as possible at the beginning of the season to meet customers' demand.

“At the end of April, some gardeners reported that lychees were ripening sporadically, so I took the opportunity to go to the garden to pick them. Not many lychees had ripened yet, so the selling price fluctuated between 40,000 and 55,000 VND/kg. This year, the price of early-season lychees is 3,000 to 5,000 VND/kg higher than the beginning of last year and 10,000 to 15,000 VND/kg higher than the main season. Although the price is a bit high, this fruit still attracts customers, especially housewives who buy it for their families to enjoy the early-season flavor and as gifts for relatives. Every day I sell 30-50 kg of lychees,” said Linh.

Ms. Pham Thi Nhu Linh, a fruit vendor at Kbang market (Kbang district), arranges bunches of early-season ripe lychees to supply to customers. Photo: Ngoc Minh

Talking to reporters, Ms. Dang Ngoc Giau - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Kbang district said: To improve the efficiency of lychee trees, in recent years, based on the direction of the District People's Committee, the department has coordinated with specialized agencies, People's Committees of communes and towns to actively propagate and provide technical guidance to cooperatives and households cultivating lychee trees.

Besides applying scientific advances in lychee tree care, gardeners also focus on growing and producing according to VietGAP standards, using biological products to prevent plant pests and diseases, and improving product quality and design.

"The Department and the District Agricultural Service Center are guiding cooperatives, communes and towns to build growing area codes to increase Kbang litchi's competitiveness in the market, increase value and income for growers," Ms. Giau added.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/vai-ngot-dau-mua-o-kbang-post322368.html