Annona, derived from the Latin phrase ‘annual harvest’, belongs to the family Annonaceae with about 2500 species and more than 130 genera.
Annona squamosa, considered to have originated in the New World tropics, is the most widely cultivated variety [1]
. The small tropical tree was first bred in Florida in 1908, and now it has been spread worldwide. To date, five main varieties of Annona spp. (A. squamosa, A. atemoya, A. cherimola, A. muricata, and A. reticulata) have been commercially cultivated in the world. Regional names of the fruit include the custard apple (CA), sitaphal (India), anon (Portuguese), anona (Israel/Lebanon), shijia (Chinese mainland), and pineapple sugar apple (Taiwan, China) [2].
It inherits fine qualities, such as having a small quantity of seeds, easy preservation after harvest, and rare cracking, garnering widespread attention. The major global producing regions are shown in Figure 1, and India is the largest producer of CA in the world. As reported by the NHB (National Horticulture Board, India), approximately 55,000 hectares are under CA cultivation, with production of the fruit reaching 38,726,000 tons in 2023; exports of the fruit were approximately 1200 tons, earning more than 1.06 million dollars.
Taiwan, China follows with approximately 5500 hectares under CA cultivation and an output value of 603 million dollars. Volza’s Global Export Data shows that 2023 exports grew 45 percent year on year, with India, Vietnam, and Colombia as top exporters. The average international market price is between 4 and 6 dollars per kilogram, peaking at 10 dollars per due to high transportation costs, making CA a high-value fruit.
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