Market Trends of Lychee Industry
Increasing Demand for Lychee Products
Lychee is primarily produced in China and India. According to the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), in 2020, Southeast Asian countries accounted for 19% of the global lychee market. Madagascar accounted for 35% of the global exports, followed by Vietnam and China, with 19% and 18%, respectively.
Based on the figures from ITC TradeMap, the total export value of lychee from China in 2022 was USD 44,129 thousand, which doubled in 2023, reaching USD 54,081 thousand. The major importing countries from China are Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the United States, which reported a significant increase in the import value from 2022 to 2023, reaching USD 14,227 thousand, USD 8,874 thousand, and USD 8,440 thousand, respectively.
According to Agricultural and Rural Department data, Guangdong, which accounts for over one-third of the global planting area, witnessed a heavy harvest in 2020. The exports increased substantially. By June 2020, the Guangdong province exported around 4,000 metric tons of lychee, leading to a 20% Y-o-Y increase. Maoming is China's largest lychee production base, with a planting area of approximately 1.39 million mu (92,667 ha) and an annual output accounting for roughly one-quarter of the country's total in 2023. Exports to international markets and domestic consumption are anticipated to grow in the forecast period.
Asia-Pacific Dominates the Market
China is one of the largest producers of lychee in the world. The Chinese government is encouraging large corporations with financial clout to enter the lychee industry to boost the lychee exports. These large corporations will be capable of integrating different components, like fruit production, post-harvest handling, exports, and marketing, in a unified enterprise. As per ITC TradeMap, the total export value of lychee from China in 2020 was USD 53.19 million, which increased by almost 20%, reaching USD 63.6 million in 2021. The major countries that import from China are Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Lychee is one of the prominent fruits grown in India. In India, the government and private companies have been taking initiatives to boost value addition, exports, and farmers' value realization. For instance, in 2020, Coca-Cola India, DeHaat, the National Research Center on Lychee (NRCL), and Kedia Fresh launched an initiative called Unnati lychee. The initiative is aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the agri-value chain and farmers' capabilities by building on high-density plantations, farmer training for good agriculture practices (GAP), and the creation of demo orchards through appropriate technology interventions.
In India, according to horticulture statistics, the area of cultivation under lychee was more than 0.1 million ha in 2023. In 2023, lychee cultivation was spread across over 32,000 ha in Bihar alone, which accounts for nearly 40% of India’s lychee production. It was followed by West Bengal (12% of the total) and Jharkhand (10%). The total production accounted for 723.58 thousand metric tons in 2022, in which Bihar accounted for 42.55%, followed by West Bengal at 9.91%, Jharkhand at 8.9%, and Assam at 8.37%.
