Festival honours Chi Lang custard apple in Lang Son

Chi Lang custard apple on sales at the festival.

The Chi Lang Custard Apple Festival took place for the first time in the northern province of Lang Son on August 11-12, with the aim of advertising the locality’s famous fruit specialty to both domestic and international markets.

The two-day event featured 52 pavilions, including 32 booths set up by businesses and economic organisations from within the province and beyond, and the remaining 20 pavilions representing communes and towns in custard apple cultivation regions across Lang Son.

The festival provided a platform to connect farmers, businesses, scientists and managers, whilst attracting investment in agriculture, thus creating a value chain for the Chi Lang custard apple, whilst working towards sustainability.

A series of events were held as part of the festival in order to facilitate the consumption of other products, such as a forum promoting the vegetable and fruit trade between Vietnam and China, a scientific workshop on the sustainable development of safe custard apple cultivation regions in Chi Lang district, the signing of agreements on farm produce purchase and consumption between commercial companies, and field trips to custard apple cultivation areas and historical relic sites in Chi Lang.

According to Hoang Van Hung, one of the outstanding custard apple farmers in Chi Lang district, the festival was very useful for custard apple growers, as through the event, farmers had the chance to exchange experience in custard apple cultivation, as well as to receive effective support from scientists, the authorities and enterprises, helping to ensure a high output and quality of Chi Lang’s custard apple products.

Currently, Chi Lang has expanded its custard apple cultivation area to over 15,000 hectares, harvesting an annual output of approximately 15,000 tonnes and a revenue of roughly VND300 billion (US$13.2 million). The district has directed and successfully developed over 100 hectares of custard apple following the VietGap standard, in addition to five hectares following the GlobalGap standard, with the aim of exporting products to international markets, such as Japan, Chinese Taipei, the Republic of Korea and Australia.