Many lychee hills in Bac Ninh this year are only showing green leaves without a single cluster of fruit. Amidst an unprecedentedly heavy crop failure, orchards meeting VietGAP standards are being sought after by traders and enterprises, with expectations of high prices for export to the US and Japan.

In the early days of May, many lychee hills in Phuc Hoa Commune, Bac Ninh Province, are lush with green leaves but almost entirely devoid of fruit.

During this historic season of crop failure, VietGAP-certified orchards have become "rare commodities," pursued by traders and businesses for export to the US and Japan.

"Some orchards lost everything, while others kept beautiful fruit"

Mr. Tran Van Dinh, from Lan Thinh Village, Phuc Hoa Commune, Bac Ninh Province, shared that his hilltop orchard of about 100 trees has maintained a relatively good fruiting rate compared to many surrounding households, even though productivity is lower than last year.

"The trees about 6–7 years old are still fruiting well this year. However, the older, long-established trees are performing very poorly—a huge loss. My orchard isn't as prolific as last year, but the fruits are quite uniform," Mr. Dinh said.

According to Mr. Dinh, the primary reason many orchards faced harvest failures is the abnormal weather. Many trees sprouted beautiful shoots but remained "dormant" when it came time to flower, failing to form flower buds.

"Some trees put out three layers of shoots with beautiful leaves, but when it was time for the flowers to emerge, they just stayed dormant. Fortunately, the younger trees were still able to set fruit," he shared.

Mr. Dinh's family is not alone; many households in the region find themselves in a situation of "winners and losers."

"The whole year, people rely on a single lychee crop. Those who face a crop failure are very sad because their economy drops significantly. Many orchards around here have almost no fruit left," he added.

According to him, neighboring households like those of Mr. Dung, Ms. Chuyen, or Mr. Thanh suffered heavy losses as most of their trees are old and failed to flower at the right time.

High hills lose over 90% of flowers, while low fields are fruitful

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh (Hoa Lang Village, Phuc Hoa Commune), this year’s lychee season has revealed an interesting paradox: orchards in low-lying field areas have flowered much better than those on the high hills.

"Usually, the hilly areas are easier to manage, but this year, some places on the hills have lost over 90% of their flowers. Conversely, gardens in low-lying, sunken fields have shown a very high flowering rate," Mr. Tinh shared.

He analyzed the cause as being excessive rain and high soil moisture, which caused the hilltop trees to grow vigorously in terms of stems and leaves, making it difficult to "reign them in" for flower bud differentiation. "With so much rain this year, the trees just kept developing foliage; even if you wanted to stop it, it was hard to hold back," Mr. Tinh noted.

To limit excessive foliage growth and stimulate flower differentiation, many households had to simultaneously apply several technical measures, such as bark girdling, hoeing the soil, and plowing around the roots to restrict the growth of fine roots.

"Many trees had to be girdled 2–3 times; for instance, this tree here I had to girdle twice this year," Mr. Tinh shared.

Thanks to correct technical handling and care according to VietGAP protocols, Mr. Tinh’s orchard has maintained about 80% of last year’s output, even as surrounding areas faced severe failures.

According to growers, the girdling technique is currently a key factor determining the flowering and fruiting capacity of lychees. If a tree lacks leaves or is growing weakly, girdling will not help form flowers, and the fruiting rate will remain low.

Output drops sharply but lychee prices may soar

Ms. Tran Thi Thap, Head of the Lan Thinh Village Farmers' Association, said the 2026 lychee crop in the locality was heavily affected by adverse weather, causing a sharp decline in production.

"The households achieving good yields this year are those who were very enthusiastic and applied the correct techniques, resulting in prolific and beautiful fruit. However, the overall output is only about 30–40% compared to typical years," Ms. Thap stated.

According to Ms. Thap, despite the crop failure, lychee prices this year are forecasted to be quite high due to the sharp supply crunch.

"This year’s weather was too harsh, so many households are at a disadvantage. For those who have no fruit at all, it's as if the entire season is lost, regardless of high prices," she said.

Mr. Do Duc Thang in Lan Thinh Village shared that his family has about 2,000 m² of lychees; last year they harvested nearly 10 tons, but this year only about 3–4 tons remain, equivalent to 40% of the output.

Meanwhile, selling prices are not yet stable as the fruit hasn't fully ripened. According to many growers, the market is seeing prices ranging from 40,000 to 80,000 VND/kg depending on the variety and region.

"While there isn't an official price yet, it’s likely that prices will be higher than last year because so much production was lost," Mr. Dinh predicted.

"Beautiful lychee orchards" aiming for the US and Japan

Amidst a season of harvest loss, orchards meeting VietGAP standards are becoming "rare goods" sought after by enterprises and traders. Despite the crop failure, Phuc Hoa Commune has selected 15 "beautiful lychee orchards" thanks to systematic production meeting VietGAP standards.

"I see that member Tran Van Dinh's orchard has achieved very good standards. The trees are beautiful, the fruit is uniform, and hundreds of trees are developing consistently, showing very systematic care techniques," Ms. Thap remarked.

Having been selected as a "beautiful lychee orchard," Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh said that this year his family began applying the VietGAP process and was granted a growing area code for export, including to the US market.

To export to large, demanding markets, the lychees must meet strict standards: "Before purchasing, enterprises must take samples to test for pesticide residues; if they pass, only then will they buy. It’s not just about the fruit being ripe."

According to Mr. Tinh, many traders and businesses have already come to discuss buying his lychees, but since the fruit is still green, he hasn't accepted yet, waiting for a better price.

"Every year selling to the open market, prices are unstable—they can shift by 5–7 units in just a few minutes. Doing VietGAP makes the price more stable, and the people are less anxious," Mr. Tinh said.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Bac Ninh Province, the entire province has so far selected 117 "beautiful lychee orchards" with a total area of 114.4 hectares and an estimated output of 934.6 tons. Localities continue to review and select more qualified orchards for provincial recognition.

These orchards must meet rigorous criteria, such as production under VietGAP or GlobalGAP standards, maintaining care logs, ensuring traceability, and being eligible for experiential tourism.

According to the agricultural sector, building "beautiful lychee orchards" not only improves fruit quality but also aims toward developing tourism and expanding exports to demanding markets like the US, Japan, and China.

After a volatile season, Phuc Hoa growers hope these VietGAP-standard orchards will help Bac Ninh lychees maintain higher value and pave the way into premium markets in the coming years.

Source: Bao dien tu Dan Viet