In 2009, the Agroindustrial Ceballos company introduced the hybrid MD2 pineapple into the country. This crop underwent a climate adaptation through good agricultural practices and, in the last five years, the country has exported about three thousand tons of this pineapple, which won a Gold medal at Havana's thirty-third International Fair.
The MD2 pineapple, which has GLOBAL GAP certification and yields 88 tons per hectare, became a paradigm of good agricultural practices in Ciego de Avila. This year, producers expect to export 1,200 tons of this fruit to the European Union.
Reinaldo de Avila Guerra, the Director of the Business Unit of Basic Production of Pineapples, said the pineapple has to be sweet but also a bit sour. "Our pineapple has 15 degrees brix and a 0.7 to 0.8 acidity that makes it true to its characteristics," said the specialist.
He also said that they currently had 95 hectares and that this year they would plant 91 more. "We expect to have two thousand hectares of this pineapple hybrid in 2022, not only from the seedlings of the plantations developed in the country, but also with the importation of new offspring from Costa Rica," he said.
The treatment of offspring, both from crowns and from plant embryos, and the implementation of biological beds, unique in the country, ensures the soils health and compliance with environmental standards.
A small specialized state industry ensures the processing of the fruit that can't be exported and the incorporation of foods to the national market, such as natural juices and pineapple slices, with a monthly production that surpasses the three thousand cans.
Source: tvavila.icrt.cu