Lychee exports in the first half of the year fell by more than half compared to the same period due to a sharp drop in output, rising raw material prices, and expensive logistics.

According to the Customs Department, in the first half of this year, Vietnam exported 16.4 million USD worth of lychees, down 51% compared to the same period in 2025. The proportion of this commodity in the export fruit and vegetable group also narrowed from 2.05% down to 0.8%.

A steep decline in supply during this year's lychee harvest season was the primary cause. According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the entire country has about 55,000 hectares of lychees, concentrated mainly in the North. Adverse weather during the flower-bud differentiation, flowering, and fruit-setting stages caused production output across many growing regions to decline.

In Bac Ninh, the country's largest lychee cultivation region, consumption volume this year reached 131,560 tons, equal to 64.1% of the previous year. Decreased supply drove domestic lychee prices higher. In Thanh Ha (Hai Phong), late-season prices were commonly 60,000–80,000 VND per kilogram, with grade 1 at times reaching 90,000–120,000 VND.

The seedless lychee segment was even scarcer. In a growing area in Thanh Hoa, this year's output reached only about 1 ton, down from 7 tons the previous year. Warehouse prices surged to over 600,000 VND per kilogram, nearly double the same period last year; retail prices in Ho Chi Minh City were around 800,000 VND.

Rising raw material costs became a major pressure on exporting businesses. The director of an agricultural export enterprise in Hanoi stated that the company's lychee export volume this year fell by about 70% compared to the same period.

"Domestic lychee prices increased too high, while freight rates—especially air freight—and cold preservation costs also escalated," he said.

According to businesses, high input prices make export pricing difficult to compete, while logistics continues to erode profit margins. For fresh lychees with a short shelf life, businesses must transport them quickly to maintain quality, making it difficult to cut costs.

"When output drops, raw material prices and logistics costs rise simultaneously, the competitive advantage of fresh lychees in the international market is narrowed, inevitably pulling export volumes down," he shared.

Source: VnExpress