[Reading level: B2 – Upper Intermediate]
The smell of freshly picked lychee fills the streets of Hanoi each June, when the tropical fruit is in season. Now, growers have picked up the scent of a new opportunity: selling their local delicacy to Japan.
The opening of the Japanese market is the biggest thing to happen to Vietnamese lychee farmers this year. Vietnam is the world’s third-largest producer of lychee, after China and India, and ranks second only to Madagascar in exports of the fruit.
On June mornings, motorbikes laden with bundles of the fruit fill roads in Luc Ngan, in northern Vietnam’s Bac Giang Province. Growers go from buyer to buyer in search of the best price.
“Wholesale prices are high this year,” a 40-year old grower says. “Last year was a bumper crop that was bought up for next to nothing. We were better off letting it rot.”
Vietnamese-grown lychee is known for its rich aroma and sweetness, with a quality described as “top class” by some connoisseurs at an international trade show in Hanoi last year. This correspondent become addicted to the fruit’s almost alcoholic scent during his days as a Hanoi reporter.
Fresh lychee are hard to find in Japan. Most of the fruit sold here is frozen. Past plans to export to the Japanese market faltered after Vietnamese growers failed to clear phytosanitary requirements.
But that has changed. Agriculture ministries from both countries have confirmed the safety of lychee grown on 19 designated farms in Bac Giang. The approved fruit meet certain farming standards and post-harvest criteria, such as fumigation with methyl bromide, a pesticide.
Vietnam is set to export 100 tons of lychee to Japan this year. The first ton arrived last month and was sold at retailers including Aeon.
A pack of about 10 sold for about 500 yen ($4.70) at Aeon supermarkets. That works out to a nearly 10-fold premium compared with a retail price of about 30,000 dong to 50,000 dong ($1.30 to $2.20) per kilo in Hanoi.
Farm and fisheries trade between Vietnam and Japan has soared since the countries entered an economic partnership agreement that took effect in December 2008. Under the trade deal, Vietnam lowered tariffs on Japanese apples to zero from 20% by 2019. Japan’s apple exports to the Southeast Asian country reached about 320,000 tons in 2018 — 18 times the level of 2015.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s exports of tra — a freshwater fish known by various names, including swai — to Japan have surged. Japan has emerged as a new market for this fish alongside leading buyers U.S. and China.
Vietnam accounted for 19% of global lychee exports in 2018, behind Madagascar’s 35% and close to China’s 18%, according to the International Society for Horticultural Science.
But many Vietnamese warn against eating too much lychee on an empty stomach. It is said to be bad for one’s health.
Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Agriculture/Lychee-land-Vietnam-savors-first-taste-of-Japan-market
WORD BANK:
lychee /ˈlaɪ.tʃiː/ (n): quả vải
scent /sent/ (n): mùi hương (nghĩa bóng: cảm nhận được về điều gì)
delicacy /ˈdel.ɪ.kə.si/ (n): đặc sản
laden with sth /ˈleɪ.dən/ (adj): chất đầy cái gì
bundle /ˈbʌn.dəl/ [C2] (n): bó
bumper crop /ˈbʌm.pə krɒp/ (n): vụ mùa bội thu
rot /rɒt/ [C2] (v): thối rữa
aroma /əˈrəʊ.mə/ (n): hương thơm
connoisseur /ˌkɒn.əˈsɜːr/ (n): người sành một món gì đó
correspondent /ˌkɒr.ɪˈspɒn.dənt/ (n): phóng viên, người đưa tin
falter /ˈfɒl.tər/ (v): dừng lại, thất bại
phytosanitary /ˌfaɪ.təʊˈsæn.ɪ.tər.i/ (n) kiểm dịch nông nghiệp
designate /ˈdez.ɪɡ.neɪt/ (v): chỉ định
fumigation /ˌfju·mɪˈɡeɪ·ʃən/ (n): khử trùng
pesticide /ˈpes.tɪ.saɪd/ (n): thuốc trừ sâu
premium /ˈpriː.mi.əm/ [C2] (adj): cao hơn bình thường
soar /sɔːr/ [C2] (v): tăng vọt
take effect [C1] (v): có hiệu lực
tariff /ˈtær.ɪf/ (n): thuế
surge /sɜːdʒ/ [C1] (v): tăng mạnh
emerge /ɪˈmɜːdʒ/ [B2] (v): nổi lên
horticulture /ˈhɔː.tɪ.kʌl.tʃər/ (n): làm vườn
ỦNG HỘ READ TO LEAD!
Chào bạn! Có thể bạn chưa biết, Read to Lead là một trang giáo dục phi lợi nhuận với mục đích góp phần phát triển cộng đồng người học tiếng Anh tại Việt Nam. Chúng tôi không yêu cầu người đọc phải trả bất kỳ chi phí nào để sử dụng các sản phẩm của mình để mọi người đều có cơ hội học tập tốt hơn. Tuy nhiên, nếu bạn có thể, chúng tôi mong nhận được sự hỗ trợ tài chính từ bạn để duy trì hoạt động của trang và phát triển các sản phẩm mới.
Bạn có thể ủng hộ chúng tôi qua 1 trong 2 cách dưới đây.
– Cách 1: Chuyển tiền qua tài khoản Momo.
Số điện thoại 0947.886.865 (Chủ tài khoản: Nguyễn Tiến Trung)
Nội dung chuyển tiền: Ủng hộ Read to Lead
hoặc
– Cách 2: Chuyển tiền qua tài khoản ngân hàng.
Ngân hàng VIB chi nhánh Hải Phòng
Số tài khoản: 012704060048394 (Chủ tài khoản: Nguyễn Tiến Trung)
Nội dung chuyển tiền: Ủng hộ Read to Lead
