KOCHI: The pineapples from Vazhakulam market, Asia’s largest market for the fruit, have good demand in domestic and national market.
However, barring a few Middle East countries, pineapples produced in Kerala do not find their way to other markets despite a huge potential.
In a move aimed at increasing demand for pineapple in overseas markets, the state government has urged the Central government to include pineapple in the list of agriculture products in its draft national crop export policy.
Bananas, which are also produced in the state in large numbers, already finds a place in the list.
Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar told TNIE that the state can include two crops to the export list.
The Geographical Indicator (GI)-tagged Vazhakulam pineapple will also be a part of this plan.
The minister said that the biggest challenge to farmers is that they are not able to find a proper market for pineapple and the government hopes to solve the issue by including it in the export list.
“According to the policy, export could be conducted only as air cargo. Now the Central government has introduced shipment protocol too. So the quantity of exports can be increased,” said Sunil Kumar. Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK) is the nodal agency of the centre for exporting.
“Pineapple and banana are commercial crops. Priority will be given to these crops as the volume of export is less compared to other crops. The Banana Honey Park at Kannara is a move to increase production and export of banana.
The government has decided to form state-level clusters for exporting pineapple according to the terms of the Centre’s export policy.
Ernakulam and Thrissur are the clusters and through these pineapples will be added to the export list. Also, a farmers’ collective should be formed so that a major share of the revenue from exports will directly reach the farmers,” said P Indiradevi, Director of Research, Kerala Agricultural University.
The agriculture minister said there were some challenges while exporting Kerala pineapples. “Most of the countries export cylindrical-shaped pineapples which are easy to cut and process. Our pineapples take more time to process. Once it is sorted out, exports will be in full swing.”
According to the farmers of Vazhakulam, around 20,000 tonnes of pineapple becomes excess. “The price of pineapple goes down drastically at times. This results in huge losses to the farmers as the excess quantity goes waste.
"The farmers will get a fixed income as exports will be conducted on a daily basis. So the wastage will also come down,” said Sunil Kumar. The minister said the production of wine and low-content alcohol from fruits will benefit farmers.
“Though the government had announced that licence will be issued for making wine and brewing alcohol, the process has not started yet,” said Thomas Varghese, president, Vazhakulam Merchants’ Association.