The 2023 Guangdong Silk Road Litchi Tour was held in Conghua, Guangzhou, on May 17th. Named after the ancient network of trade routes that connected China with various countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa, this annual event aimed to promote the global sale of litchi and was first launched in 2019.

Litchi has a long history in Guangdong. As the main litchi-producing region in China, the output and planting area of litchi in Guangdong exceeds half of the country, accounting for one-third of the world's litchi.

“Agriculture is one of the main fields of cooperation between China and Panama. The progress of the Belt and Road Initiative has boosted trade of agricultural products between two countries, thanks to which, our people can enjoy this distinctive fruit from Guangdong.”said Yamileth Ye Li, the Consul General of Panama in Guangzhou.

Zhang Tieliu, the president of US-China Guangdong Chamber of Commerce, shared that the US-China Guangdong Chamber of Commerce is more than happy to fulfil its role as a platform and cooperate with local companies to expand the presence of litchi in the American market.

Guangdong litchi has so far been successfully exported to more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines. In 2022, the export of fresh litchis from Guangzhou reached a new high of 1,70 million RMB (24.3 million USD), accounting for 59.4 percent of the total share of the national exports of this juicy summer fruit. 

The lychee industry in Guangdong has currently made a considerable breakthrough in terms of ultra-low temperature freezing and fresh-keeping technology to better the preservation, which combined with fast delivery, is the key to putting fresh litchi on the shelf of foreign markets.

Next, Guangdong will hold China international tropical crops industry conference & The 7th China Litchi and Longan Industry Conference on May 20th in Maoming city to further promote the global sale of litchi.