HÀ NỘI — Japanese-based retail giant AEON is planning to use its commercial network to export Vietnamese longan to neighbouring Asian nations, according to Yuichiro Shiotani, General Director of the AEON TOPVALU Vietnam Co Ltd.
Shiotani said the group wants to promote the fruit, particularly from the northern province of Hưng Yên, among Vietnamese consumers and foreigners in Việt Nam.
AEON hopes for relaxed regulations on farm produce trade between Việt Nam and Japan so that Hưng Yên longan will be exported to Japan in the near future just like lychee, he added.
In 2020, AEON was the first Japanese firm to put Vietnamese lychees on shelves at its stores in Japan. In the 2021 crop, the amount of Vietnamese lychees exported to Japan increased by 750 per cent compared to last year.
Japan officially approved the import of Vietnamese fresh lychee in December 2019. A similar decision is yet to be made for longan from Việt Nam. — VNS
