Special Phuket Pineapples

Phuket Pineapple is unique in its taste and popular among consumers. This leads to quite attractive income for farmers. Just recently the fruit has been registered as Phuket geographical indicator by the Intellectual Property Department. Our reporter went to visit a local farm to find out more about the fruit’s farming and business.

‘ Phuket pineapples have sweet golden colored meat with a crispy core’. They’re tasty’ The outstanding characteristic of the Phuket pineapple is the juicy, golden yellow texture with a sweet and sour flavor. The fruit became a symbol of Phuket island and is available all year round.

Manus , a local farmer who has been doing pineapple farming for almost 20 years told us that the fruit is now in high demand on the market. He said hotels and restaurants usually offer pineapple to their guests after meals or as refreshments. The main harvest season for Phuket pineapples is between April and July. The complete cycle from planting to harvest is around 10 months. From just one rai of farm land a farmer can harvest between 3,000 - 4,000 pineapples, depending on the spacing of the rows. The price per head of pineapple ranges from 6-17 baht depending on the size of the fruit. Manus said last year was a golden year for pineapple growers in Phuket. After the harvest, the plant itself can also be sold to safari camps as food for the elephants at an average of 2,000 baht per rai. Manus went on to tell us - ‘This year the price is much better than any year. Farm prices have never gone up to 17 baht, but this year it did.’ ‘There is big market demand locally. 95% of the fruit produced is sold on the local market. Only 5% is sold outside of Phuket.’ Prapas Boonsuk / Chief of provincial Agriculture Office With its unique taste, the fruit has recently been registered as a Phuket geographical indicator by the Intellectual Property Department. The recognition not only increases the value of the fruit, but plantation owners also hope that it will boost marketing for pineapple farmers. The 50-member group is also working together to create the same practice to maintain high quality leading to sustainable development.

Resource : http://thainews.prd.go.th

February 23, 2010