Statistics from Son La province show that in recent years, this local agricultural product has taken the leading position in the country, especially fruit trees. The total area of fruit trees in the province as of the first 9 months of 2024 reached 83,757 hectares. Of which, the harvested area is 63,207 hectares, with an estimated output of over 379,000 tons.
Fruit trees grown in Son La all have large yields such as 6,500 hectares of bananas, with an output of over 59,500 tons of fruit; 12,400 hectares of plums, with an estimated output of 78,200 tons; nearly 19,700 hectares of mangoes, with an output of nearly 77,800 tons; 20,000 hectares of longans, with an estimated output of 72,000 tons, etc.
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| Mai Son custard apple is an agricultural product that brings high economic efficiency to farmers. Photo: baosonla.org.vn |
Among the above fruit trees, custard apple has become the “golden agricultural face” in Son La when it leads in economic efficiency with 972 hectares of custard apple, yielding over 7,100 tons. The reason is that the ideal climate and soil conditions combined with the highly skilled farming techniques of farmers have made custard apple superior to other fruit trees.
Mai Son district can be considered the custard apple capital of Son La. With the planting and harvesting areas of 790ha and 500ha respectively, accounting for over 80%, the expected output in 2024 of Mai Son custard apple is about more than 6,700 tons; mainly concentrated in the communes of Co Noi, Hat Lot, Na Bo and Hat Lot town.
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| Due to ideal climate and soil conditions combined with advanced farming techniques, Mai Son custard apple has become a product with outstanding productivity. Photo: Danviet.vn |
People in these communes mainly grow 3 main custard apple varieties: custard apple, Thai custard apple and durian custard apple. Of these, the area of custard apple is decreasing, instead, Thai custard apple and durian custard apple are grafted onto custard apple.
Among the above communes, Co Noi is the commune with the largest custard apple area in Mai Son district, with more than 400 hectares, of which 200 hectares are for harvest, including 5 hectares grown organically, 195 hectares grown using high technology; fruit output reaches 3,000 tons/year.
For custard apple trees, the harvest time for custard apples lasts from July to September; Thai custard apples are harvested from July to December and durian custard apples are harvested from August to January of the following year. Currently, farmers are focusing on pruning small branches, diseased branches, and branches; creating ventilation for custard apple trees. The branches that are still viable are left to process the fruit inside the trunk.
In addition to fertile land conditions suitable for cultivation, farmers' techniques are also a sufficient factor to make custard apples in Son La lead the country. In order for custard apple trees to achieve a high fruit set rate, people have been instructed on custard apple tree care techniques, spraying pesticides according to the "4 rights" principle. Especially the custard apple care process according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards.
Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mai Son district has coordinated with communes and towns to organize nearly 70 training courses, instructing people on techniques for caring for custard apple trees and various fruit trees for over 3,500 people.
With updated cultivation techniques applied before, during and after harvest, the economic value of custard apple trees is being affirmed in Mai Son district. The revenue of each hectare of custard apple trees in the district can reach 1 billion VND for families with good techniques. In general, the profit after deducting all costs of custard apple trees per hectare usually fluctuates around 200 million VND for long custard apple trees and 300 - 350 million VND for Thai custard apple trees. As for durian custard apple trees, the economic value is very high but they are still new and the area is small, so there are no specific figures yet.
The Mai Son custard apple brand was recognized in August 2018 when the People's Committee of Mai Son district held a ceremony to announce the "Mai Son custard apple" certification label. This is an important milestone for custard apple growers in Mai Son. Up to now, Mai Son custard apple products have affirmed their brand and enhanced their competitiveness with similar products on the market.
However, people here still need to actively seek solutions to expand the consumption market, find more "outputs" for products to bring custard apple agricultural products to the international market, especially large countries with large fruit consumption value such as China, Australia, the United States, etc.
Regarding policy, Mai Son district still determines to continue to promote intensive investment, introduce new varieties and apply scientific advances in production, forming concentrated raw material areas to increase productivity and product quality. From there, increase value, increase competitiveness in the market to meet the increasing demand of consumers and exports.
On the other hand, Mai Son district is continuing to deploy solutions to connect consumption, applying digital technology in promoting and consuming products. Creating conditions for cooperatives, production households, and business focal points to meet, learn about needs, sign product consumption contracts, contributing to bringing the "Mai Son custard apple" brand to reach further, becoming competitive in the domestic and export markets.
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