HANOI - Facing a lean harvest but enjoying good prices, Vietnam's litchi growing hub is intensifying cultivation of the succulent fruit in accordance with international standards, and exporting half of its output to China.

In June, an official from Bac Giang's Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the northern province is encouraging more local farmers to grow litchi trees according to GlobalGAP or VietGAP, and promoting the fruit both at home and abroad.

VietGAP is the Vietnamese version of GlobalGAP (Good Agricultural Practices), a voluntary audit which verifies that fruit and vegetables are produced as safely as possible to minimize risks of microbial food safety hazards.