Project to cultivate pineapple in Matara

The EDB has initiated a program to increase agri based investments in the provinces to meet the increasing demand for fruits and vegetables and Matara has been identified as one of the most suitable areas to cultivate pineapple.

The Export Agriculture Division of the EDB initiated the pilot project for the cultivation of pineapple in the Matara district with the assistance of the Faculty of Agriculture (FOA), University of Ruhuna and Department of Agriculture, Matara. FOA, Matara facilitates the project by providing of consultancy, organising training programs, field demonstrations, awareness workshops and training facilities.

Research, soil and plant testing, project supervision and progress evaluation will also be done by the FOA, to find the suitability of the Matara district for commercial cultivation of pineapples for the export market.

It was expected to identify suitable cultivation seasons focusing on the Yala and Maha.

The project has been launched at a cost of Rs. 1.42 million on a 20 acre block of land, by assisting 40 selected farmers on a cost sharing basis.

The EDB launched the first phase of the project a five acres of land by providing 30,000 pineapple suckers among 10 selected farmers in May, 2012 and the second phase of the project was launched in October 2012 in another five acres by providing another 30,000 pineapple suckers among 10 selected farmers.

It will also induce the other farmers to move into pineapple cultivation in unused land or by inter cropping.

The EDB implemented the third phase of the project in another five acres of land by providing 30,000 suckers among 10 other farmers from the area. The quality pineapples will be channelled to the export market.

The first and second phase of the project produced quality pineapple and the weight of the product was around one kg to two kg.

The global demand for fruits and vegetables is increasing rapidly due to population growth in the world. Pineapple has been identified as one of the most demanding fruit crops in the world market.

Mauritius pineapple (Queen Apple) is well known among Asians as a table fruit and it has unique characteristics. It is sweet, acidic and has an attractive aroma when ripe.

These characteristics of the Mauritius pineapple grown in Sri Lanka has a demand in the Middle East, the Maldives, USA and Europe. This variety has been promoted in those markets and as a result the name Sri Lankan pineapple has been established among importers and consumers.

The export of pineapples from Sri Lanka has been increasing over the years. However, production is insufficient to meet the increasing demand for the fresh and processed fruit in the local and international markets.