Vietnam lychee prices surge following short crop

Vietnam's Bac Giang lychees have seen a significant price increase this season due to adverse weather conditions leading to a reduced harvest, resulting in half of the production compared to the previous year. This decrease in supply has caused domestic prices to rise dramatically, reaching up to three to four times the price from the same period last year. The high prices have attracted Chinese traders who have bought a large portion of the lychees, with 23,800 tonnes being exported to China out of a total of 24,000.

The price of Vietnam’s Bac Giang lychees surged this season, reaching the highest levels in history thanks to a reduced harvest from adverse weather conditions. According to estimates from the Department of Industry and Trade of Bac Giang province the total lychee output was down to 100,000 tonnes, around half of last year’s production. This lack of supply caused domestic prices to increase rapidly with prices starting at 45,000 VND/kg (USD$1.77/kg) at the beginning of the season but ranging from 65,000 (USD$2.56) to 85,000 VND/kg (USD$3.34/kg) by the end of June with some lychees selling for up to 90,000 VND/kg (USD$3.54/kg), according to reporting from VietNamNet Global. Prices generally drop during peak season due to abundant supply but this year, with supply unable to meet demand, prices were three to four times higher than the same period during the previous year. The price increase has also been tied to an influx of Chinese traders seeking supply after their own poor weather ...