The usually bustling harvest season of the million-dollar custard apple gardens in Hai Phong has been quiet this year due to crop failure.
Mr. Toan shared that his custard apple garden, valued at billions of VND, was mostly uprooted and tilted due to the impact of Storm Yagi in 2024.
Farmers in the limestone mountain area of Thuy Nguyen (now known as Luu Kiem Ward, Hai Phong City) lamented that hundreds of their 8-to-10-year-old custard apple trees showed poor growth and a 90% decrease in productivity.
In previous years, experts would come to collect soil, water, and fruit samples from the gardens for regular quality checks. Each season, the family would harvest 4-5 tons, with an average price of 80,000 VND/kg in the garden, and sell them according to VietGap standards, earning 300-400 million VND. There were days when they harvested 400-500 kg, and traders would flock to buy.
Mr. Toan also shared that at the end of July, a storm and Storm Wipha had continued to affect the remaining custard apple trees in the garden. Many trees were impacted, resulting in smaller and less round fruits than before. This year, due to the low yield and scarcity, the garden price is high, at over 100,000 VND/kg. However, traders and regular customers come only to find that there are no custard apples to buy.
The owner of the largest custard apple garden in the area shared that the soil here is alluvial with sea-facing sand, and the surrounding area is filled with towering limestone mountains, creating an ideal environment for growing custard apples. For many years, the custard apples of Thuy Nguyen have been renowned for their large size (300-500 grams), sweet and delicious taste, and high quality, making them a popular and sought-after specialty.
“Despite our best efforts to care for and restore the garden after the storm, the long-standing custard apple trees with tilted roots and broken branches have resulted in a more than 90% decrease in productivity. We plan to replant the entire garden after this harvest season. It will take at least 3-4 years for the new trees to bear fruit, so the double loss amounts to billions of VND,” said Mr. Toan.
On August 3, a Tien Phong reporter observed a few regular customers visiting Mr. Toan’s custard apple garden and buying a few kilograms to eat.
Walking through the custard apple garden, customers could only selectively pick a few kilograms from Mr. Toan’s thousands of square meters of garden. Affected by Storm Yagi, the custard apples grew slower, and the fruits were not as large and uniform as in previous years. Many trees had yellowing leaves and smaller fruits.
Lien Khe Commune (Thuy Nguyen District), now known as Luu Kiem Ward (Hai Phong City), is the capital of custard apples, famous for its large, fragrant, and sweet fruit. The Lien Khe Cooperative estimates that the local custard apple-growing area is about 100 hectares, with many families owning gardens spanning thousands of square meters, yielding significant productivity. This is a long-standing tree species grown according to VietGap standards, providing stable incomes for local farmers. In previous years, garden prices fluctuated between 70,000 and 90,000 VND/kg, depending on quality and appearance. However, this year, the region has experienced crop failure due to the impact of Storm Yagi in 2024. Many gardens have mostly uprooted trees and low yields.
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