“Frozen Pearl Lychee” – breaking the limits of seasonality

Lychees, a specialty fruit of Bac Ninh Province, have long been loved by consumers both at home and abroad for their distinctive aroma and taste.

Lychees are pre-processed before preservation at Vifoco Import-Export Joint Stock Company.

They are now available in more than 30 countries and territories worldwide. However, their short harvest period—barely a month—means consumers cannot enjoy them all year round.

Driven by that limitation, Nguyen Duc Hung, director of Toan Cau Food Import-Export JSC in Phuong Son Ward, nurtured the idea of long-term lychee preservation for many years.

His company, one of Vietnam’s pioneers in agricultural processing and export, already ships key products such as sweet corn, soybeans, fruit juices, and lychees to demanding markets like the United States, Europe, and Japan.

“From our early experiments with just a few tonnes, we can now store hundreds of tonnes of lychees to supply during winter,” Hung said.

The company’s breakthrough product, branded “Frozen Pearl Lychee,” is made possible by advanced preservation technology. Each lychee is put into “hibernation” at –20°C, keeping its cell structure intact. When needed, it is “awakened” at 0–5°C, ensuring a perfect texture transition while retaining its original flavor and color.

The company plans to launch online sales this October, offering home delivery within 24 hours of “waking up” the fruit. Once thawed, the lychees can be kept fresh for up to 48 more hours in a refrigerator.

Another local pioneer, Vifoco Import-Export JSC in Tien Phong Ward, has also applied similar technology on a trial scale, successfully preserving lychees for over a year while maintaining their sweetness and aroma. Many consumers expressed surprise and delight, saying the fruit tasted as if freshly picked.

Hoang Mai, a businesswoman from Guangxi, China, recalled her visit to Bac Ninh’s lychee-growing areas in March.

“Even though the trees were still bearing green fruit, we were offered last season’s lychees that tasted wonderfully fresh. It showed how far preservation technology here has advanced,” she said. If scaled up, she added, the technology could significantly increase the fruit’s market value.

Vifoco’s director, Nguyen Xuan Viet, said the company now aims to expand production. “The growing demand for high-quality agricultural products both domestically and abroad requires us to maintain quality while strengthening our supply capacity. This is a long-term strategy for sustainable growth,” he said.

Toward a winter lychee festival

Bac Ninh currently cultivates about 30,000 hectares of lychees, mainly in Luc Ngan, Phuc Hoa, Yen The, Chu and Phuong Son, with an annual output exceeding 100,000 tonnes.

Lychees remain fresh after more than a year of preservation at Toan Cau Food Import-Export Joint Stock Company.

To enhance the fruit’s value, local authorities, businesses, and farmers have joined hands to improve cultivation techniques, harvest timing, and transportation efficiency.

The government has also supported the effort by planning specialized growing areas, promoting trade, and investing in agricultural infrastructure. Scientific studies on post-harvest technology have been launched, but until recently, most lychees could only stay fresh for about a month after picking.

In this context, the success of enterprises applying year-long preservation technology marks a breakthrough in agricultural innovation.

According to Pham Van Thinh, Vice chairman of the Bac Ninh People’s Committee, “This approach reflects bold progress in applying science and technology to agriculture. Thanks to these advances, lychees are no longer confined to the June–July harvest season but can become a four-season product, meeting market demand year-round.”

He added that businesses’ participation has elevated the fruit’s brand value and expanded its market reach. Winter lychees, which sell for several times higher than in-season fruit, are vivid proof of technology’s transformative power in modern agriculture.

“If this model is scaled up, Bac Ninh could even hold a Winter Lychee Festival,” Thinh said.

Lychee, one of Vietnam’s proudest agricultural treasures, is among the few unprocessed products to earn a five-star OCOP certification, affirming its premium quality and strong brand reputation.

Beyond preservation, the province has tasked scientific agencies and enterprises with studying ways to regulate the crop cycle—aiming to make lychees fruit naturally in winter, defying their usual growth pattern.

If successful, this would mark a major milestone, giving Bac Ninh’s lychees a distinct competitive edge in both domestic and international markets.

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