In 2016 Peru installed 24 thousand hectares of pineapples and this year, the area installed with this crop grew by 30%, said, William Daga Avalos, a specialist in fruit trees of the General Agricultural Directorate (DGA) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri).
According to Daga Avalos, the area increased because several regions have started growing pineapple. As a result, they expect the areas devoted to this fruit will continue to grow. "Before, pineapple was only sown in the central jungle, but now it is being grown in Madre de Dios, Cusco, VRAEM, the Amazons, and San Martin."
He also said that this rapid increase in production had led to a drop in prices. The Golden variety, for example, went from S/ 2.50 to S/ 1.50 per kilogram. Despite the decrease in prices, it is still a very profitable crop.
"The average productive yield is 50 thousand pineapples per hectare (where each pineapple weighs 2 kilos on average). The cost of investment in this crop represents 40% of the price obtained from the fruit's sale," he stated.
Daga also said that 90% of the pineapple production was sold fresh. However, he added, the processing industry has grown a lot in recent years, so there is a huge opportunity in frozen, sliced, and dehydrated pineapple, among other products.
Source: agraria.pe