Quality pays in pineapple trade

The past decade has seen radical changes in export markets for pineapple. Central America has taken over from Africa as Europe's major supplier.

 

 

The EU is constantly tightening restrictions on maximum residue limits for pesticides. For small-scale producers from ACP countries, quality and originality hold the key to good profits.

 

 

The pineapple is going from strength to strength. People everywhere are growing it, eating it and selling it. In the past 20 years, production has almost doubled. FAO calculated output at 20 million tons in 2008, a figure that outstrips the most optimistic forecasts for as far ahead as 2014.

 

 

The bulk of global production is accounted for by Asia, which dominates the tinned pineapple and juice sectors, and Central America, which does little in the way of processing but exports massive quantities of fresh pineapple by boat to the EU and the USA.

 

 

Out of every 100 pineapples produced, only 17 are grown in Africa, less than 2 in the Caribbean and just 1.5 in the Pacific. Africa cultivates nearly 50% more than it did 20 years ago and includes major producer countries such as Nigeria (almost 930,000 tons in 2008) and Kenya (about 600,000 tons).

 

 

Over the past decade, however, its share of the EU export market, its major outlet, has been badly eroded by competition from Latin America.