Ghana Risks Losing EU Pineapple Market

Ghana risks losing its 11% share of the total export of pineapple from developing countries to the European Union if the new variety, Del Monte Honey Gold (MD2) is not made available to farmers to replace old varieties such as the Smooth Kayen.

The smooth kayen has been the dominating variety produced by Ghana but the pineapple market in the EU has changed its taste to favour the MD2 which is mostly produced by the South American countries.

The MD2 currently controls about 75% of the EU market and is priced about 2 Euros per kg.

The MD2, originally from Costa Rica, is a hybrid pineapple developed by Del Monte scientists for a targeted market looking for extra sweet fruit, uniform in size and ripeness, spineless leaves and greener than most varieties.

The MD2 has less fibre also, is less acidic and resistant to internal browning but susceptible to fruitlet core rot and more sensitive to phytophthora. MD2 is also better priced than the other varieties as it is priced twice the price of smooth kayen.

The new variety has a longer shelf-life of 30 days after harvest as against 21 days for the other varieties.

However, to forestall the loss of the 11% shareholding of pineapple exports from the developing world to the European Union, the Director General of the Export Promotion Council, Mr. Adu-Mensah has revealed to the Business Chronicle that the government has given an amount $200,000 to the Sea-Freight Pineapple Exporters of Ghana (SPEG) to build a capacity to supply farmers with the new variety of pineapple, the MD2.

The money is also to help farmers get access to plantlets and equipment that would help in the establishment of the variety in the country.

He said the Atomic Energy Commission is currently working to develop more and other varieties to farmers, to expand the MD2 production in Ghana as a tissue culture laboratory had been set up.

The Director General said the government had started supplying 800,000 plantlets of MD2 to SPEG to supply to farmers by the end of the first week in June. He said another Ghanaian entrepreneur has completed supplying MD2 plantlets to pineapple farmers.

The government has done something but it is not enough. More must be done by the government, a pineapple farmer said.

The industry would need more governmental support. We need to have our own pineapple variety by 2006/07.

Export of pineapple has been fetching the country some millions of dollars recently. It has also about 30 exporters, including smaller exporters.

It is believed the next few years would see the domination of the MD2 and extinction of the smooth kayen. The market would however be controlled by the south American countries if African countries do not do much to help farmers plant the variety as they have taken the lead in the production of MD2.