Through a marketing support initiative, Meghalaya government has ensured that horticulture farmers’ income has been doubled and there is now plan to scale it up on a larger area.

After Lakadong turmeric and GI-tagged Khasi mandarin, Meghalaya’s pineapples are gaining more and more popularity in export market, mainly in the Gulf countries, which has also attracted many Indian exporters to start sourcing the fruit from the north-eastern State.

“We have started sourcing pineapple from Meghalaya, though in small quantity,” said Anand Singh Wangkhem, a director in X5 AGRO Farm Producer Company. Wangkhem said the company specialises in exporting chemical-free products like cinnamon, ginger and turmeric from the North-East, mainly from Manipur and Nagaland. He said pineapple was added in the export basket 2-3 years back and the demand is growing.

In a matter of great pride for the State, the sweetest pineapples from Meghalaya are the centrepiece of the elaborate display celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at the Al Wahda mall at Abu Dhabi, said State’s agriculture secretary Isawandra Laloo. These pineapples are being marketed through the Lulu Group in the Gulf markets, he added.

The farmers were previously receiving about ₹10 per pineapple irrespective of the weight of the fruit, the agriculture department said adding farmers now earn ₹16 per kg due to collectivisation and market linkage with international buyers. This is equivalent to receiving ₹21 per fruit, with the average fruit size exported to Lulu group being 1.3 kg, it said.

USPs of Megh pineapples

The State government said that Meghalayan pineapples have very low pesticide and almost nil heavy metal residue. Also, it is less sour and significantly sweeter, it said. The pineapples have a Brix value of 16-18, which indicates the sweetness of the fruit, it added.

Pineapple has been selected under the One District One Product scheme in Ri Bhoi and East Garo Hills districts. Jamge Integrated Village Cooperative Society (IVCS) of East Garo Hills worked with Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) under the state government’s guidance to make it happen, officials said. The Jamge IVCS has over 250 farming households from four villages, who produce almost 100 tonnes of pineapples throughout the seasons.

Of late, recognizing the importance of processing of perishable horticulture produce like pineapple, the state has been further working towards increasing the processing capacity and infrastructure in the state. The government facilitated a collaboration between Karnataka’s IQF Food and Ri Bhoi’s Umdihar IVCS to set up a mobile processing unit for quick freezing of pineapples.

Besides, the state has also been helping farmers’ groups enter into sourcing arrangement with ompanies like Reliance Fresh, officials said citing the example of pineapples sold at Reliance Retail stores across Assam.

Meghalaya’s share in India’s pineapple production is about 8 per cent. In 2023, it is exporting for the first time in a big way as one trial shipment before 2020 was done of less than 10 quintal. So far, 2.3 tonnes have been exported since April this year, though export season starts from June-end or early July.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW