Nghia Phuong: Bustling custard apple season

Bustling custard apple market in the early morning

At dawn, the custard apple market in Khuyen village was bustling with buyers and sellers. Trucks loaded with sweet fruits from all over the custard apple growing areas poured in, and as soon as they stopped, small traders gathered around to look at the goods and bargain. It is called a market, but in reality it is just a gathering and consumption point for custard apples. The custard apple market has existed for decades but only opens during the harvest season, from 4am to 7am. Transactions take place quickly and bustlingly. Although affected by the stormy weather at the end of last year, in general this year custard apples have a good harvest and good prices, with good quality products ranging from 35,000 to 50,000 VND/kg. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau, from Dong Phu commune, has more than 10 years of trading experience and said: "Every day, I go to the collection points in the commune to buy 1.5 - 2 tons of custard apples and then distribute them to fruit stalls in Hanoi . Today, there are many beautiful custard apples, so in less than 1 hour, I bought a full 2.5-ton truck."

People trade at the custard apple market in Khuyen village.

Having just sold his last shipment, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Lien Giang village, shared: “My family has more than 1,000 custard apple trees about 7-10 years old that are bearing fruit. For nearly a month, my wife and I have been waking up at 2-3 am to go to the garden to pick custard apples in time to bring to the market. My family's custard apple garden mainly uses organic fertilizer, so this year the fruits are big and beautiful, and the selling price is higher than last year.” Up to this point, Mr. Dung's family has sold 2.5 tons of custard apples, earning nearly 100 million VND; the rest will be processed technically to produce off-season fruit to sell in the winter-spring crop.

Just like in Khuyen village, at the gathering point of Suoi Van village, after agreeing on the price, custard apples are cleverly packed by buyers into foam boxes, each box from 25 - 40 kg and then taken to consume in provinces and cities such as: Hanoi, Hai Phong , Hung Yen... This year's harvest season, cooperatives producing custard apples according to VietGAP standards in Nghia Phuong commune received many orders, custard apples were picked and consumed as soon as they were picked.

According to the representative of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection (Department of Agriculture and Environment), the whole province has more than 2,200 hectares of custard apples, this year the output is estimated at about 16,000 tons, an increase of more than 1,000 tons compared to last year. As of August 17, people have harvested more than 300 tons of custard apples, the selling price ranges from 30,000 to 50,000 VND/kg; in Nghia Phuong commune alone, there are more than 1,000 hectares, accounting for nearly 50% of the custard apple area in the whole province, the output is estimated at 8,000 tons. In previous years, custard apple trees brought the locality an income of about 400 million VND/ha of cultivated land, many times higher than other crops.

Exploiting the value of key crops

Custard apple trees have taken root in Nghia Phuong for decades, becoming a staple crop, contributing to bringing high economic efficiency to the people in the mountainous areas. In recent years, local authorities have promoted the conversion of rice fields with difficulty in irrigation to growing custard apples and other fruit trees; expanding the planting area according to VietGAP standards, and organic production.

Nghia Phuong commune has more than 1 thousand hectares of custard apple, accounting for nearly 50% of the custard apple area of the whole province, with the main crop output estimated at 8 thousand tons.

In addition to the weather and geological factors suitable for the growth and development of crops, Nghia Phuong farmers also have many innovations in techniques for planting and caring for custard apples. One of them is the pruning technique after each harvest. Nghia Phuong is also the first commune in the province to apply the additional pollination method to prolong the harvest season, limit the custard apples from ripening, leading to not being able to harvest in time, and avoid traders forcing down prices.

Mr. Dang Van Thanh, an expert from the Economic Department, said: 87% of the custard apple growing area in the commune is cared for using the spread-out method, applying additional pollination techniques. This helps improve productivity, fruit quality and extend the harvest time from July to December (previously, the harvest ended from July to mid-August). In the gardens, farmers exploit about 60% of the output in the main season, the rest is technically processed to produce off-season fruit (custard apple) at the end of the year. In addition to the existing custard apple area, many households have actively switched to growing Thai custard apples for 2 harvests/year. Thai custard apples have outstanding features such as large size, thin skin, white, chewy flesh, rich sweetness and few seeds, each fruit when harvested weighs from 800 - 1.2 kg, so they are favored by the market.

In order to facilitate the consumption of custard apples, the People's Committee of Nghia Phuong commune has promoted the brand by many methods such as: Guiding the establishment of custard apple production cooperatives, promulgating regulations on geographical indication management, affixing traceability stamps, QR Codes, printing packaging; at the same time, planning custard apple production areas according to VietGAP standards... The whole commune has 105 hectares certified by VietGAP. Since 2021, the custard apple products of Nghia Phuong Custard Apple Cooperative have been recognized as 3-star OCOP.

Although the area of custard apple cultivation is constantly expanding and its quality is confirmed, market development is still facing many challenges. Because the products are mainly consumed through small retail channels with traditional markets. Local people and authorities hope to receive support from the State so that the typical sweet fruit here can be applied with advanced processing and preservation technology, helping to keep the fruit fresh longer, expanding the domestic consumption market and aiming for export.

Article and photos: Mai Toan

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/nghia-phuong-nhon-nhip-mua-na-postid424782.bbg