The Philippines is the 2nd largest pineapple producer in the world. Philippine pineapples are exported to China, Japan, South Korea, Middle East (Sharjah, Jabel Ali, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait), New Zealand, Hong Kong, Qatar, Canada, Guam, Russia and Germany.
Currently the largest plantations are found in Mindanao run by two transnational corporations. These are the biggest contract growing plantations in the country. The non-contract growers are found in Cavite and Camarines Sur.
Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) is one of the two transnational corporations with the biggest plantations and it is planning to increase production by one million tons in the next five years. The target for 2017 is 750,000 metric tons.
“We continue to expand our production facility. We will do 750,000 metric tons (of pineapple),” said DMPL chief operating officer Luis Alejandro during the listing of the company’s dollar-denominated preferred shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange last April 7, 2017.
Initially, DMPL’s Cagayan de Oro plantation was at only 23,000 but has now increased to 450,000 metric tons.
Pineapple production at DMPL’s Cagayan de Oro plantation has grown from 23,000 MT to 450,000 MT.
Aside from the Philippines, Del Monte intends to increase its production in the US, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
"There is a huge demand now for fresh pineapples in China prompting agribusiness companies based in Mindanao to expand their capacities," disclosed Francisco A. Ramos, the agriculture marketing assistance service director.
According to the Philippine Postharvest Industry, a huge percent of total production is lost due to damage sustained by crops during hauling, transporting, and rat infestation. Other major problems facing the Philippine pineapple industry are the high cost for sorting, unstable prices during trading, the seasonality of harvest, and the limited extent of village-level processing activities.
The plantations in Mindanao account for 90% of Philippine pineapple production.
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