The pineapple industry loses 18.3 million euros

Years of unrest and a post-election crisis (December 2010-April 2011) caused considerable losses to the Ivorian pineapple sector.

The Central Organization of exporting producers of pineapple and banana (OCAB), the main management structure of the industry, estimates the loss at more than 12 billion CFA francs or €18.3 million over the last 10 years.

After years of decline, production seems to have increased but the post-election crisis has complicated the situation. During this crisis, the blockade of ports and lack of pest control of many fields have only increased the losses.

The industry expects government support to boost production. Côte d'Ivoire produced 216,000 tons of pineapples in 1999 and only 60,000 tons in 2008, a drop of 70%.

source : abidjan net