Early Monday morning, Ms. Pham An Nhien in Xuan La (Tay Ho, Hanoi ) received a message from a fruit store saying that Vip size na bo had arrived at a price of 250,000 VND/kg. She bought 3 boxes of 27 fruits for a total of nearly 2.3 million VND, and the store offered free shipping.

Ms. Nhien shared that ripe custard apples are fragrant, soft to eat with a sweet and refreshing taste that melts in your mouth. However, this type of custard apple is quite difficult to buy, especially VIP products.

“At high-end fruit stores, Vip custard apples are only 70,000-80,000 VND/kg and are always available. Vip custard apples cost up to 250,000 VND/kg, and you have to order in advance to buy them,” she said. On this occasion, she needed to buy them as gifts, so she had to order 2 days in advance. The price will fluctuate depending on the day, so she will have to wait for the goods to arrive.

nabob
The sweet custard apple, once "out of favor" and having to be sold at super cheap prices, has now become an expensive commodity. Photo: NVCC

In the current market, na bo sold by stores mainly originates from Thuy Nguyen (Hai Phong), Dong Trieu (Quang Ninh), Chi Lang (Lang Son) and na bo co Ha Giang . Accordingly, the popular type of na bo costs from 75,000-150,000 VND/kg depending on size; Vip size 3-4 fruits/kg costs from 200,000-250,000 VND/kg.

Sharing with PV.VietNamNet , Ms. Dang Thi Van - a wholesaler specializing in selling custard apples in Thanh Xuan (Hanoi) said that she has been selling this type of custard apple for 5 years now. Every year when the season comes, she buys the entire custard apple garden of a farmer in Dong Trieu, which is nearly 2 hectares wide.

Every day, on the custard apple hill, farmers pick and send them to her to sell. Therefore, the custard apples delivered to customers are still firm, and will ripen naturally after 1-2 days.

This is the beginning of the season so the ripe custard apples have not yet opened their eyes much, and the price is also quite expensive. She cited that the type of 5-6 fruits/kg she is selling for 125,000 VND/kg, the type of 3-4 fruits/kg is priced at 200,000 VND/kg. If customers request selected products with only 3 fruits/kg and packaged in boxes, the price will be up to 250,000 VND/kg, because this type is very rare.

nabob
VIP custard apples are sold at sky-high prices in Hanoi. Photo: Lien Khe custard apples

Compared to the general market price, na bo is three times more expensive than na dai. Many customers even say na bo is more expensive than the 'king of fruits' durian. However, Ms. Van said that there are not many na bo gardens and the harvest season is quite short, so the price is often expensive.

“I have been selling custard apples for many years, mostly to regular customers. Because many people like the sweet, soft taste of custard apples that melts in their mouths, not the sharp sweetness,” she said. Therefore, there are customers who order dozens of kilos from the beginning of the season to the end of the season for their families to eat and to give as gifts.

However, if you want to order custard apples from VIP stores, you have to order in advance because she can only get 40-50kg of custard apples every day. As for the common sized custard apples, most of them are available, about 100kg of custard apples are delivered every day, she said.

Ms. Dao Thi Bich - owner of a clean fruit shop in Tran Dai Nghia (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi), admitted that custard apples are very expensive but still in high demand. Today, the custard apples sent to her from a garden in Lien Khe were 60kg, she divided them into orders for the shipper to deliver but still lacked a few orders.

nabob
In growing areas, farmers wait for this fruit to "open its eyes" to pick and sell for a profit of 400-500 million VND/ha. Photo: NVCC

According to Ms. Bich, gardeners only pick custard apples when they are ripe - the fruit "opens its eyes". Therefore, the quantity of custard apples delivered is not fixed. There are days when customers order up to 70-80kg, but the delivery is only 30-40kg and vice versa. When the season is at its peak, the source of custard apples is abundant, customers who order the day before will have the goods delivered the next day.

In fact, in the past ten years, custard apple has become a hot commodity on the market, sought after by many people, so the price is always very expensive.

Last August, at the Chi Lang agricultural market in Lang Son province, many "selected" custard apples grown locally were successfully auctioned for a total of more than 780 million VND. Of which, one custard apple was purchased for 100 million VND.

The director of a cooperative growing custard apples in Thuy Nguyen (Hai Phong) said that custard apples are "selling like hotcakes". The type of 3-4 fruits/kg is purchased by stores at a price of 120,000-130,000 VND/kg. Accordingly, farmers growing custard apples in recent years have earned a profit of 400-500 million VND/ha.

Custard apple auctioned for 100 million VND/fruit: Previously had to be cut down, now gourmets are hunting for it. At Chi Lang agricultural market, 100 million VND is the price successfully paid for 1 custard apple. It is worth mentioning that this type of custard apple was previously "out of favor" and farmers had to cut it down, but in recent years it has been sought after by gourmets.