Such lychees were grown by Ho Guom-Song An High-tech Agriculture Company in Thanh Hoa Province and imported to the UK by TT Meridian, a distributor of Vietnamese agricultural produce in the European country.
According to TT Meridian CEO Thai Tran, a kilogram of seedless lychees cost around 16-18 pounds, which is 3-4 pounds higher than ordinary lychees, but the company still decided to import this speciality to assess market demand.
If seedless lychees are welcomed by the UK market, TT Meridian plans to import around one tonne each week in June and July, the main lychee harvest season in Vietnam.
Thai said the entire duration for the lychees from orchards in Vietnam to arrive in the UK market is only 36 hours, including packaging, transporting, customs clearance and distribution to retailers.
According to the Thanh Hoa Information Portal, seedless lychees in Thanh Hoa are grown following global good agriculture practices and are qualified for export to Japan, Canada and Europe.
The variety was imported from Japan and piloted on 30 hectares in 2019. This is the first year that the lychees have been harvested with an estimated output of 20 tonnes.
Ho Guom-Song An is planning to expand the growing area in the coming years to meet both domestic demand and export.
