Giant durian price drops by half

Each kilogram of grade 1 durian, sold at the garden, costs 55,000-75,000 VND depending on the type, down nearly half compared to last year.

Originally a rare and expensive specialty, the price of durian custard apples has been plummeting for the past two years. They are called "durian custard apples" because of their thorny appearance, quite similar to durian, large size, fragrant, and characteristically sweet taste. Four years ago, this type of custard apple appeared on the market with a price ranging from 400,000-500,000 VND per kilogram, now it is under 100,000 VND.

At gardens in Son La , the selling price of durian custard apple grade 1 (800 grams - 2.5 kg) is 75,000 - 80,000 VND per kg, grade 2 (500 - 800 grams) is 55,000 VND. This price has decreased by nearly half compared to last year.

Many custard apple growers at Me Lech Cooperative (Mai Son district, Son La) said that the price of durian custard apple has returned to a popular level, helping consumers have easier access to this fruit.

This year, Ms. Hoan Anh (Cau Giay district, Hanoi ) bought a box of 5 fruits for 260,000 VND, while three years ago this amount was only enough to buy one fruit.

In Ho Chi Minh City, this fruit is sold by fruit traders at a higher price than in the northern provinces, due to the high cost of air transport. Currently, each kilogram of grade 1 is around 200,000-250,000 VND, grade 2 is 140,000-170,000 VND. However, this price has decreased by about 40% compared to before.

Ms. Huyen, a food seller in District 12, said that this year she sells durian custard apples because the price has decreased. This strange fruit has attracted the attention of consumers in the South.

According to growers, the reason for the sharp decline in durian prices is the increased supply. The Me Lech Cooperative is the first unit to grow durian in Vietnam, collaborating with a business to import seeds from Taiwan to graft with local custard apple varieties. Mr. Nguyen Huu Tu, Director of the Me Lech Cooperative, said that the price reduction makes this fruit more accessible to consumers. The law of supply and demand also causes prices to adjust to promote consumption.

In 2021, Melech's durian custard apples began to bear fruit. A year later, the cooperative's planting area reached 20 hectares, bringing in a revenue of 14 billion VND thanks to high selling prices. Wherever the custard apples are harvested, they are all ordered by customers, sometimes not enough to supply. To date, the cooperative's planting area has increased 5 times, to 100 hectares.

In Mai Son district (Son La), many farmers in the region have also expanded the area of durian custard apple cultivation. The yield of this custard apple variety is high, mature trees can yield up to 20 tons per hectare. However, this fruit variety requires meticulous care techniques, each fruit must be pollinated manually, and at the same time, it needs 3-4 times more fertilizer than normal custard apples. The process from flowering to harvest lasts about 6 months, later than other custard apple varieties. When ripe, durian custard apples weigh from 0.4 to 2.5 kg and are harvested from early August until Tet.

Mr. Tien, a custard apple farmer in Son La province, said that this year's prices have dropped sharply compared to last year, causing profits to fall, but gardeners still maintain a stable income.

Director of Me Lech Cooperative Nguyen Huu Tu calculated that on average, at 60,000 VND per kilogram, one hectare of durian custard apple can bring in revenue of about 1.2 billion VND, a much higher profit than that of common custard apple varieties.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Son La, the total area of custard apples in the province is 970 hectares, of which 610 hectares have been harvested, with an expected output of more than 7,100 tons this year. Mai Son is the custard apple capital of the province with the largest planting and harvesting area, with an expected output of about 6,700 tons this year. In particular, durian custard apples are a new crop with a limited area, so there are no specific statistics yet.

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