Litchi and longan production and trade in the world

The center of origin of litchi is between latitude 23 and 27°N in subtropical southern China and northern Vietnam. China has a long history of litchi cultivation for more than 2,000 years. Litchi gradually reached to Myanmar, India, Thailand, Madagascar, Mauritius, Hawaii, South Africa and Australia. The world litchi production is estimated about 3.5 million t of which 80% (2.8 million t) of litchi was produced in China in 2018. The other major producers are India (0.67 million t), Vietnam (0.38 million t), Madagascar (0.10 million t), and Thailand (0.048 million t). Other countries growing litchis include Bangladesh, Australia, South Africa, Reunion, Brazil, and Israel. China's main fresh litchi export markets are Hong Kong, USA and Malaysia. A small amount of litchi (about 150 t) was exported from India in 2018. South Africa produced about 11,000 t of litchi in 2017/18 of which 56.4% was mainly exported to Europe. Longan, which also originated from southern China, was introduced to India in 1798. Longan is now grown mainly in Indochina region (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam). Production of longan in China is mainly located in Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan provinces. The production in China reached 1.85 million t from an area of 340,000 ha in 2017. In Thailand, longan is the second largest exported crop in terms of value after pineapple. Thailand exported 450,000 t of longan valued 10 billion Thai baht to China in 2017. Longan is produced all year round in Vietnam with production peaking in June and July. In 2014, Vietnam produced 515,100 t of fresh longan. Vietnam's main export destination of longan includes China, Singapore, Malaysia and USA.