Pineapples airlifted for export

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 5: Pineapples produced in the State in organic manner were airlifted today for sale in markets outside the State.
Horticulture and Soil Conservation Minister Th Shyamkumar oversaw loading of pineapples at Imphal International Airport this morning and flagged off the cargo.
Speaking at the airport, Shyamkumar said that pineapples produced in the State are sent outside the State including foreign countries in air freight since last year.
Developed countries as well as people residing in major cities of the country are highly conscious of health hazards posed by different food products. As such, they prefer agricultural and horticultural produces which have been certified as organic even though such produces are costlier.
At the same time, large quantities of pineapples produced in the State get rotten and wasted due to absence of processing facilities. That is why, fresh pineapples are being exported, Shyamkumar said.
He said that exporting pineapples would enhance farmers’ incomes and it would not be wrong to say that the department’s efforts have started paying dividends.
Horticulture and Soil Conservation Director K Kipgen said that the North East Agro, a private firm based at Gurgaon purchased 140 metric tonnes of organic pineapples from the State.
This year, Big Basket based at Delhi ordered organic pineapples of the State in addition to the North East Agro. Accordingly, the State has started sending pineapples to different destinations outside the State.
These firms have been offering to buy whatever quantities of organic pineapples the State can supply, said the Director.
Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) Project Director K Devdutta said that pineapple is one of the crops selected for cultivation using organic methods under the Central Government’s Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCDNER) with MOMA as the main agency.
Since three years back, 1500 farmers have been cultivating pineapple varieties Queen and QC over 1500 hectares using organic methods at Khousabung, Bunglon, Andro, Thayong and Thoubal under MOVCDNER.
As pineapples are highly degradable and the State cannot consume its total pineapple yield, 30-40 percent of the total yield are wasted every year in the absence of fruit processing infrastructure and cold chain or cold storage facilities, Devdutta said.
Nonetheless, a private fruit processing unit called Meira Foods has been opened recently under MOVCDNER apart from exporting fresh pineapples since last year.
This would certainly reduce wastage of surplus pineapples while enhancing farmers’ income, he said.
Altogether 300 Kgs of pineapples were sent outside the State by air freight today. One to 1.5 metric tonne of pineapples would be sent in the next air freight, he added.