Fresh lychee, which is in season now in northern Viet Nam, has returned to in-flight meals on Vietnam Airlines after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

The fruit, grown in Bac Giang province, is being served to business class passengers on the national flag carrier’s domestic and international routes from Ha Noi from July 1-15.

The move aims to introduce the specialty to both domestic and foreign passengers and expand cooperation with businesses and localities to promote Vietnamese agricultural products to the world.

Since June 24, Vietnam Airlines has coordinated with Bac Giang province to promote lychee on e-commerce platform VNAMall.

Phan The Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Bac Giang People’s Committee, underscored that the province is home to the country’s largest lychee-growing area of over 28,000 hectares. Bac Giang’s lychee was the first Vietnamese product to be granted PGIC in Japan and is eligible for trademark protection in eight countries.

“Bac Giang has 15,400 hectares of VietGAP lychee plantations, equivalent to an annual output of 125,000 tonnes, and 102 hectares of GlobalGAP plantations, equivalent to over 1,000 tonnes,” he said.

The vice chairman also noted that Bac Giang’s lychee is now available in over 30 countries.

He said the province will continue to boost lychee exports to high-end markets and try to gain entry into new markets, including Canada and Thailand.

Source: VNA