Demand drastically outweighed supply this season after poor weather halved Vietnam’s crop
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 caused major losses in China’s domestic market.
Nguyen Van Tho, deputy head of the planning and finance department of the Department of Industry and Trade of Bac Giang province told VietNamNet Global Chinese traders were aggressively buying lychees to meet domestic demand.
Of the 24,000 tonnes of lychees exported to various countries, 23,800 tonnes went to China.
