However, lychee has an extremely high post-harvest decay rate, which severely limits public access to genuinely fresh fruit.
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Lychee
is a highly valued tropical fruit native to the southern part of China, renowned for its excellent taste and significant economic and cultural importance.
Lychee's Importance Hover to see more details
Economic Impact
Lychee is a multi-billion dollar industry.
For example, in 2023, a primary lychee-producing city in China saw the total value of its lychee industry chain exceed
11 billion RMB
Economic
Cultural Significance
As a characteristic fruit of the south China, lychee has been a
cultural symbol
for centuries, deeply embedded in local poetry, historical narratives, and traditional arts.
Cultural
The Problem: Rapid Spoilage
This results in rapid spoilage for distributors, meaning consumers still struggle to purchase fresh lychee.
Widespread Spoilage Leads to
Production/Harvest (40%)
Transport/Storage (45%)
Wholesale/Retail (15%)
Distribution of Post-Harvest Loss Causes
Massive Food Waste
Post-harvest losses reach 30-40% across the supply chain, with transport and storage being critical stages.
Significant Economic Loss
Annual lychee losses in China reach $0.7-1.4 billion, part of the global $100 billion fruit waste crisis.
[2] McKinsey (2021)
In a single year,
between 18% and 30%
of China's total lychee harvest was damaged during the post-harvest circulation process, leading to an estimated annual loss of approximately 550 million USD.
Source: China Lychee Industry Data Analysis Report 2023, Yunguo Industry Report
Our Solutions
To tackle the challenge of high post-harvest decay and shelf-life loss, we engineered a novel, two-pronged biological preservation system using synthetic biology.
Our system uses a biopreservative spray containing two engineered microbial strains: one producing melatonin and one producing a wax membrane. When applied to the lychee during the shelf-life period, this spray creates an integrated protective layer to significantly extend freshness.