New Zealand opens market for fresh pineapples produced in Panama

Fresh pineapple, golden in color, with a special aroma and sweet taste, produced in the tropical fields of Panama, has a new market niche: New Zealand. This is the first time that a national fruit reaches consumers in Oceania.

The island nation opened the market to pineapples produced on Panamanian soil after this February 22nd, New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) officially approved the import requirement for the national fruit. With this, Panama will be able to export pineapples to that location.

Pablo Rodríguez, National Director of Plant Health of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), said that the MPI announced the need to import pineapples from Panama, after ten years of management and cooperation between the phytosanitary authorities of the two countries. .

He explained that this would include bilateral exchange of technical phytosanitary information, inspection of pineapple production sites in Panama by New Zealand inspectors and constant communication between the two countries.

“As a result of this process (…), Mida contributes to opening another important market for the first time in Oceania for the benefit of national pineapple producers and exporters,” the senior official said in a press release.

The official explained that the agronomic management of the crop, the phytosanitary situation of the pineapple crop in Panama and the quality of the product helped New Zealand reject the negotiation of a protocol to export from Panama, so exporters must remove it. Crowning of fruits, inspection at packing plant and issuance of botanical export certificate.

Pineapple production

An analysis of the recent performance of pineapple exports indicates that 79.6% of the total pineapple production in Panama is concentrated in the province of Panama Osté, followed by 20.2% in Chiriquí and other provinces with lesser contributions. World, from the Business Intelligence Office (Intelcom) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Mici) (May 2021), based on information from the Directorate of Agriculture, Ministry of Agricultural Development.

According to data provided by Mida regional offices and their service coverage, fruit production in 2021 has increased by 2%, or 33,659 quintals, compared to the previous year.

However, in the sowing area, its behavior is decreasing during this five-year period, and the same is happening with the participation of producers.

However, the average yield last year (2021) increased by 68.7%, which is 677 quintals more than last year and its growth rate is 9.6% over the five-year period. In summary, this economic activity generates about $32.6 million in goods and services.

In 2020, pineapple exports reached a total of 7.5 million dollars, representing 16.89 million kilograms. The Netherlands is the top buyer of pineapples of Panama origin, representing 18.2% of total pineapple exports, followed by the United States, Turkey and Belgium as the main buyers of pineapples in 2020, with 15.3%, 15 .2% and 15.1%, respectively.