Hưng Yên’s Hồng Nam township residents harvest longan. Photo: Đinh Văn Nhiều/VNA
According to the Hưng Yên Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has approximately 5,000 hectares of longan plantations, including about 1,000 hectares of old longan varieties such as cùi cổ and đường phèn. These varieties are mainly grown in Hưng Yên City and the districts of Ân Thi, Kim Động, Tiên Lữ, and Khoái Châu.
Taking advantage of the dry weather, Mr. Trịnh Văn Hữu from Nễ Châu village, Hồng Nam township, has mobilized extra hands to harvest longans. This year, Mr. Hữu’s family planted one mau of the đường phèn variety, expecting to yield over six tons of fruit.
Mr. Hữu shared that the đường phèn variety is a local specialty. When ripe, the shoulders on both sides protrude, resembling a square shape. Although this variety has lower yield compared to other longan types, it makes up for it with very uniform, beautiful, crunchy, and seedless fruit with a rich, sweet taste, making it a favorite among customers. So far, the family has harvested six tạ [a unit of weight, equal to 100 kg], mostly for gift orders. Currently, they receive daily orders averaging 2-3 tạ, priced at 70,000 – 80,000 VND per kg. It is expected to take another week to complete the harvest.
Mr. Trịnh Văn Cương’s family is also busy preparing sufficient quantities of longans to fulfill customer orders. Mr. Cương stated that his family planted over one mau of the đường phèn variety in 1995, and it was recognized as a parent tree garden by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2022. This year, the family started harvesting longans on July 23 and has completed about 70% so far, mainly selling to large traders and gift orders. They anticipate a yield of about seven tons, priced at an average of 70,000 VND per kg, which is very encouraging.
These days, Mr. Nguyễn Quốc Hưng from Nam Định Province is visiting longan gardens in Hưng Yên City to observe and purchase the fruit. Mr. Hưng was surprised to learn about the various longan types, as he had only heard the general name “lồng” longan, a specialty and tribute fruit of Hưng Yên, without knowing the unique names of the precious varieties grown here. After tasting the đường phèn variety right in the garden, Mr. Hưng decided to order 50kg to take home as gifts for his family.
At the Nễ Châu Lồng Longan Production Cooperative, owned by Ms. Trần Thị Bắc from Nễ Châu village, Hồng Nam township, nearly one ton of cùi cổ longans was sold out within a week. This came as a surprise to Ms. Bắc, as this precious variety among Hưng Yên longans is priced at 100,000 – 120,000 VND per kg, earning her family a profit of about 80 million VND after expenses.
Ms. Bắc shared that her family has been growing the cùi cổ variety for over 100 years, planted by her father-in-law in their garden. The longans have a crunchy texture, are seedless, and have a rich, honey-like flavor, comparable to the đường phèn variety. The locals call it nhãn cụ Uyển (Ms. Bắc’s father-in-law’s name). Recognizing the value of the cùi cổ longan, in 1996, her family began propagating it in their garden, and now they have 30 trees.
Ms. Bắc added that this year, the cooperative has 18 hectares, including about six hectares of specialty longans, such as cùi cổ, đường phèn, and square đường phèn. At this point, the cooperative members are busy harvesting longans. Despite the high prices, most households have found buyers, mainly large-city traders and large supermarkets and agricultural product stores.
“Quality has built the reputation of Hưng Yên’s ‘lồng’ longan, so people are willing to spend a significant amount of money to enjoy the delicious fruit,” shared Ms. Bắc.
According to Mr. Nguyễn Văn Tráng, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province currently has about 50 longan and lychee genotypes in production in different localities, with over 40 of them being native. This not only enhances the value of Hưng Yên’s longan-growing region but also holds significant importance in terms of native plant genetic resources, regional culinary values, and Hưng Yên’s cultural and tourism values.
To preserve and develop Hưng Yên’s unique longan and lychee genotypes, effectively and sustainably exploit and utilize the province’s specialty crop resources, and increase farmers’ incomes, on December 31, 2019, the Provincial People’s Committee issued Decision No. 2918/QĐ-UBND approving the Project on Conservation and Development of Longan and Lychee Growing Areas in Hưng Yên Province for the 2020 – 2025 period, with a vision toward 2030.
By 2025, the project aims to ensure that the province’s existing longan and lychee genotypes are inventoried, evaluated, and have a genetic database for traceability.
The province plans to establish a new conservation area and maintain the current conservation status of parent trees. It will also conserve in situ the precious and delicious longan and lychee varieties in the owners’ gardens and establish an ex situ conservation garden for the province’s longan and lychee genotypes.
At the same time, localities in the province will focus on renovating and replacing low-yield and poor-quality longan gardens with specialty varieties that have high economic value. This includes expanding the area of đường phèn and cùi cổ longan varieties to account for 15-20% of the province’s total longan area.
