The Hindu Business Line : Kerala pineapples to hit US shelves

THE prospects of pineapple exports from Kerala look brighter than ever with new processing units coming up in the state, targeting the US market, experts have said.

"No other pineapple can match the sweetness of the Mauritius variety we have in Kerala. If an American tastes this, he will not touch any other pineapple," says Dr N.C. George, National Trustee of Infarm.

Pineapple is grown in most of the districts in Kerala, but organised farming takes place in Vazhakkulam area of Ernakulam district. Official estimates have it that Kerala produces around 85,000 tonnes of pineapple a year.

"But actual production would be higher by about 50 per cent of that," says Mr Baiju Radhakrishnan, Managing Director of The Kerala State Agro Co-operative Ltd (Agreenco).

Agreenco is setting up a pineapple processing unit in Kannur at an investment of Rs 26 crore for exporting canned slices to the US. To be operational by February next year, this unit will export 15,500 tonnes of packaged pineapple a year.

The project is being set up in collaboration with Ashco Inc of the US.

Nirmal Agro Industries is setting up another processing unit in Kochi, which plans to export 130 tonnes of canned pineapple a day to the US. This unit will be operational in the next 3-4 months.

Mr Radhakrishnan said Agreenco has started a community plantation scheme for cultivation of pineapple in the districts of Kannur, Malappuram and Kasargod. "Initially we will take up this project in 1,500 acres, but will eventually cover 5,000 acres," he said.

Pineapple is planted widely as an intercrop in rubber plantations. "Since there won't be any canopy in the first three years of rubber planting, pineapple will get adequate sunlight," Dr George said.

Kerala has enormous scope for pineapple farming. Every year 20,000 hectors of rubber plantations go for re-planting after the trees are slaughtered. Pineapple can be planted as the intercrop in this area for the next three years.

According to Mr Jose Kalapura, President of the Pineapple Farmers Association, one acre of pineapple farming would require an investment of about Rs 50,000 in the first year. This includes the cost of planting material (called suckers), fertiliser, irrigation and weed control.

The cost would come down in the subsequent years. "We can have 8,000-10,000 plants in one acre. At an average price of Rs 5 a kg, the yield should fetch Rs 40,000-50,000 in the first year," Mr Kalapura said.

Over a three year period, a farmer can make a profit of Rs 25,000 from one acre of plantation, at an investment of Rs 1 lakh, he said, adding that current price of pineapple is Rs 7 a kg.

Pineapple can now be uniformly harvested by inducing flowering at the same time by using Ethephon, which complies with the norms of Fedral Drug Act and UD Department of Agriculture. It takes 130-135 days for harvesting the fruit after that.

Though the Mauritius variety is the most popular, attempts are on to cultivate the `KEW' variant of pineapple as well. "The KEW variety is more suitable for processing because it has more stable flesh," Mr Radhakrishnan said.

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