Two shipments of fresh lychee, about two tonnes in all, flew from Vietnam to Houston, Texas, in early June. Importers there said many customers had ordered before the fruit landed.
Vietnam News reported that the lychee kept its freshness, colour and flavour on the trip, and that distributors and consumers responded well. It is now sold through Asian supermarket chains and local markets in Houston and several other states.
Diem Chinh, owner of the importer C&T Produce Wholesale Inc, said Asian American shoppers rate Vietnamese produce highly for quality, variety and distinctive taste, which makes that community an important customer base for the country’s fruit exports. The Vietnam Trade Office and the Consulate General of Vietnam in Houston have backed the trade with promotion events, business networking programmes and trade facilitation.
The wider numbers
The lychee is a small piece of a large trade. According to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office, merchandise exports passed USD 430 billion in the first 11 months of 2025, up 16.1 percent on the year before. The United States was the biggest buyer at USD 138.6 billion, more than 32 percent of the total. Electronics, computers, mobile phones, textiles and garments, footwear, wooden products and seafood lead the list of goods sold there.
Vietnam’s total import and export turnover went past USD 900 billion in the same period. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, spoke about it at a December 16 seminar on export growth.
For Dong Nai Province, the United States is also the largest market. Of its more than USD 31.7 billion in exports over the 11 months, nearly USD 11 billion, or 34.6 percent, went there.
Business ties extend to timber. In late November 2025, 20 representatives of the U.S. Softwood Export Council, led by president Rose Braden, toured the factory and showroom of Tan Vinh Cuu Joint Stock Company in Dong Nai. Its chairman, Vo Quang Ha, said regular contact with foreign partners opens more doors for Vietnamese products in demanding markets.
Economists quoted in the Dong Nai report urged exporters to move from quantity to quality, add more value to what they ship, and look beyond the American market.
