It is estimated that there are greater than 10,000 hectares below pineapple cultivation in Kerala. File photograph
Farmers are wanting on the potential of a pineapple variety, which is but to be named regionally and touted as “very sweet”, appropriate for mechanised processing and probably with shelf life longer than the traditional Mauritius variety broadly cultivated in the State.
What has drawn the eye of farmers to the brand new variety is the potential of mechanised processing for worth addition and export. The Mauritius variety can’t simply be processed. The loss from processing could be as excessive as 35% to 40%, stated a pineapple researcher. But it has different options like being extra hardy, making it straightforward to deal with whereas being dispatched to markets in different elements of the nation.
A veteran farmer in Muvattupuzha stated that the fruit is bigger and weighs round 2.5 kg to 2.7 kg. Its shelf life is to be examined. Only wider cultivation and testing can lead to a agency conclusion on its deserves, he added.
Price fall
In the in the meantime, the value of pineapple continued to rule low. The worth of highest quality inexperienced, normally exported to upcountry markets, is ruling at ₹23 to ₹25 a kg whereas the value of the ripe variety, offered largely in the Kerala market, is ruling between ₹22 and ₹24 a kg as on Wednesday.
The formation of Vazhakulam Pineapple Farmer Producer Company has given fresh hope to farmers, who at the moment are reeling below a worth fall. The Nadukkara fruit processing plant is in dire straits and little or no market intervention has taken place in latest years due to the monetary constraints confronted by the corporate. The disaster gripping the pineapple processing unit has additionally affected different initiatives that had been lined up to add worth to pineapple farming in the State.
It is estimated that there are greater than 10,000 hectares below pineapple cultivation in the State with round 4,500 farmers instantly engaged in incomes a livelihood by means of plantations.
