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Ghana: Blue Skies revives organic sugarloaf exports
The Blue Skies Organic Collective (BSOC) is an association of over 80 small-scale organic pineapple farmers in the Central Region. The Association was formed in partnership with Blue Skies Products Ghana Ltd which is a prepared fruit manufacturer and exporter in Ghana. Blue Skies sought to help the Central Region farmers find an export market for the ‘sugarloaf’. This is a unique variety of pineapple which is smaller than more common varieties such as ‘MD2’ or ‘Smooth Cayenne’; it also has a pale flesh compared to other varieties which tend to be more ‘yellow’ in colour. It is however its flavour that sets this pineapple apart. It is extremely sweet but low in acidity so it practically melts in your mouth. From the beginning, Blue Skies has believed it can find a export market for this fruit something which no one had managed to achieve before.
To assist the farmers in scaling up, Blue Skies has provided technical and financial support. This support has come in the form of ‘soft loans’ to enable to farmers to expand their farms, and the construction of roads and collection points to allow fruits to be collected every day by a Blue Skies vehicle and taken to the factory. In terms of technical support, this has come in the form of providing continuous training on good agricultural practice, and paying for certification and auditing costs for achieving standards expected by European retailers such as GlobalGap, organic and Fairtrade. Blue Skies has also helped in partnership with some of its customers to build water systems and construct a community centre and kindergarten for some of the villages where many of the farmers and their families live.
Unfortunately due to the recession and the downturn in the organic market, sales of sugarloaf have dropped over the last three years. Blue Skies has tried to reignite enthusiasm among retailers for the sugarloaf, however sales have struggled. Blue Skies and the BSOC however remain hopeful and continue to look for new opportunities to return sales of sugarloaf to where they once were and to increase them further.
The company is therefore looking to work together with funding partners and other organisations to enable it to achieve this; most importantly though it is working on developing new product ideas so that it may once again open up new markets for this incredible pineapple.
The Blue Skies Organic Collective (BSOC) is an association of over 80 small-scale organic pineapple farmers in the Central Region. The Association was formed in partnership with Blue Skies Products Ghana Ltd which is a prepared fruit manufacturer and exporter in Ghana. Blue Skies sought to help the Central Region farmers find an export market for the ‘sugarloaf’. This is a unique variety of pineapple which is smaller than more common varieties such as ‘MD2’ or ‘Smooth Cayenne’; it also has a pale flesh compared to other varieties which tend to be more ‘yellow’ in colour. It is however its flavour that sets this pineapple apart. It is extremely sweet but low in acidity so it practically melts in your mouth. From the beginning, Blue Skies has believed it can find a export market for this fruit something which no one had managed to achieve before.To assist the farmers in scaling up, Blue Skies has provided technical and financial support. This support has come in the form of ‘soft loans’ to enable to farmers to expand their farms, and the construction of roads and collection points to allow fruits to be collected every day by a Blue Skies vehicle and taken to the factory. In terms of technical support, this has come in the form of providing continuous training on good agricultural practice, and paying for certification and auditing costs for achieving standards expected by European retailers such as GlobalGap, organic and Fairtrade. Blue Skies has also helped in partnership with some of its customers to build water systems and construct a community centre and kindergarten for some of the villages where many of the farmers and their families live.
Unfortunately due to the recession and the downturn in the organic market, sales of sugarloaf have dropped over the last three years. Blue Skies has tried to reignite enthusiasm among retailers for the sugarloaf, however sales have struggled. Blue Skies and the BSOC however remain hopeful and continue to look for new opportunities to return sales of sugarloaf to where they once were and to increase them further.
The company is therefore looking to work together with funding partners and other organisations to enable it to achieve this; most importantly though it is working on developing new product ideas so that it may once again open up new markets for this incredible pineapple.
Publication date: 9/30/2010
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