Growers appeal for assistance:

Pineapples, a juicy delight

By Ananda Kannangara

A heap of pineapples

Pineapple, a ready export

Although Nawala in Kotte became popular for pineapple cultivation during ancient times, its popularity gradually decreased with the arrival of the colonial rulers.

The construction of more buildings, factories and roads during the colonial era, resulted in many pineapple cultivators at Nawala abandoning the traditional cultivation.

Nawala, in close proximity to Sri Lanka's capital, Sri Jayawardanapura is now a thickly populated area. The land value has risen to millions of rupees due to the construction of the Parliament building at Sri Jayawardanepura, Kotte.

Although Nawala is well-known for pineapple, not a single pineapple cultivation is seen in the area today.

The pineapple cultivation in the country has a history of over six decades. It is now the livelihood of nearly 600 families in the areas of Imbulgoda, Balummahara, Mudungoda, Dompe, Attanagalla, Divulapitiya, Pannala, Sandalankawa, Hettipola, Gampaha, Kotugoda, Giriulla, Udugampola, Meerigama, Kirindiwela, Kuliyapitiya, Radawana, Nittambuwa and Pasyala.

An American tourist with his wife recently was searching for something with a travel brochure in hand at the Nawala Junction. A Police officer who was patrolling the Junction intending to be of assistance to the young couple had a friendly chat with them.

The brochure carried a comprehensive description of fruits in Sri Lanka. It had beautiful pictures of pineapples and well-grown pineapple trees.

The brochure which had been printed several years ago described the history of pineapple cultivation in Nawala.

Accordingly the foreign couple thought that pineapple could be bought only from Nawala and not any other area.

The Police officer related to them the history of Nawala pineapples and asked them to visit the Gampaha area if they were interested in buying pineapples.

Although, the name of Nawala is still famous for pineapple, like Bataleeya for cashew and Malwana for rambutan, there is hardly a pineapple cultivation in Nawala today.

The Sunday Observer staffers last week visited several pineapple cultivators and sellers at Imbulgoda, Balummahara and Gampaha.

Some cultivators were happy as both retail and wholesale traders visit their plots often to buy pineapple.

A long standing pineapple cultivator, 60-year-old Lionel Senadeera at Imbulgoda said he started pineapple cultivation at the age of 20. He first helped his father's pineapple cultivation.

Senadeera is a retired soldier and his children helped him in the pineapple cultivation.

Pineapple for sale

Senadeera's pineapple garden is located two kms from the Imbulgoda Junction. It is in a remote area, the gravel roads are in a dilapidated condition and even a small cart cannot enter the garden where the pineapples are grown. He had cultivated pineapple as an inter-crop with pepper and banana. H.G. Wimalaratne 74, the owner of Wasana Pineapple dealers at Balummahara in Mudungoda said he started the business at the age of 24.

He said he and a few others were the first to start pineapple sales at Imbulgoda five decades ago.

Now the business has expanded and Wasana dealers are the main growers, suppliers and exporters of pineapple.

Statistics reveal that 2,000 families in the village depend on pineapple cultivation and sales, for their livelihood.

There is no season for pineapple, they are cultivated even in home gardens as an inter-crop.

A pineapple seller earns about Rs. 50,000 a month.

The pineapple village is located within the Imbulgoda, Balummahara and Mudungodan areas. One visit the village, could see over 70 pineapple stalls displaying the fruits on either side of the road.

The road, which leads to the country's main cities of Kandy , Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Jaffna and Trincomalee is busy everyday from morning till midnight with thousands of vehicles flying between Colombo and the cities.

Many foreign tourists also stop their vehicles to taste the pineapple mixed with chillie and salt powder.

The present owner of Wasana Pineapple Traders, H.G. Senaratna had started the business at the age of 20. He has given employment to about eight people in the area. Senaratna is engaged in wholesale business .

Senaratne said cultivators bring pineapple from their gardens and traders from all parts of the country including Jaffna and Trincomalee visit his shop everyday at Imbulgoda to buy the fruit. In addition, factory owners such as Lanka Canneries, Kist, Delmage and the Edinborough Factory at Rajagiriya buy pineapple from shop owners to manufacture jams and cordials.

Senaratne said a large quantity of pineapple are produced by cultivators, but 40 percent of them get spoilt due to bad weather conditions and lack of a fruit preserving system in the country.

He asked the authorities to establish jam and cordial manufacturing industries in the Gampaha District to enable cultivators to sell their pineapple without any difficulties.

According to research, over 10,000 hectares of pineapple lands are currently located in the Gampaha District.

Unlike many other fruits, pineapple is a delicious fruit as it gives the taste of both sweet and sour.

During our short stay at the Mudungoda village, a trader, Suminda Napaluwa recalled the story of a foreign woman from the Netherlands. She was fascinated with the heaps of ripe pineapples which she had seen for the first time in her life. She took a fruit and enjoyed a piece without even removing the outer skin.

As a result her tongue was injured and started to bleed. The tour guide gave her first aid and stopped the bleeding.

There are about ten famous pineapple sellers in the villages of Imbulgoda and Balummahara. Among them Wasana Pineapple Sellers, Kavindu, Siyane, Sandamali, Bhagya and Amammi pineapple sellers are well-known.

The end of the 30-year-old conflict has opened the doors for Northern fruit sellers to visit the pineapple village at Imbulgoda.

Sumanwathi Peiris of Meerigama said she earns about Rs. 30,000 from her one-acre pineapple cultivation. She said the price of pineapple has dropped these days due to the good harvest.

She said the Government should provide the cultivators with fertilizer and pesticide at a reduced price. She also appeals for bank loans at concessionary rates to expand the cultivation.

A large scale pineapple cultivator Martin Gunadasa of Kirindiwela said he had five acres of pineapple cultivation along with bananas, coconuts and vegetables.

He requested the authorities to send hoteliers from Colombo to purchase the harvest without allowing them to be purchased by businessmen who sell pineapple at high prices.

Gunadasa also recalled the surprise visit made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the pineapple village last week and said he proposed to the President to direct all tourist buses to stop at their village on the way to Kandy and other cities.

A middle aged pineapple businessman M.A. Ranjith of Imbulgoda said unlike in the past many vehicles coming from Kandy turned at the Balummahara Junction. As a result only a few vehicles passed their pineapple stalls at Imbulgoda.

He proposed to the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and private tour groups to stop at their stalls to enable the foreigners to buy pineapple.

A pineapple exporter, H.G.S. Pushpakumara of Rammuthugala said he visited pineapple gardens and purchased the pineapples from cultivators and exported them to Dubai and several other Middle Eastern countries.

A trader S.P. Premadasa said there is good business for pineapple sellers during the months of Vesak and Poson as they are purchased in large quantities to make soft drinks at dansals.

He said most of the small scale pineapple traders are poor and needed money to construct their houses. The Government should help them at least by granting loans.