A consignment of 600 kilograms of the renowned Queen variety pineapple from Tripura has embarked on its journey to Oman. The dispatch was ceremoniously flagged off from Agartala railway station on Thursday evening by Tripura’s Minister for Agriculture, Ratanlal Nath, in the presence of key officials.
The consignment, consisting of GI-tagged organic Queen pineapples, is part of an export initiative spearheaded by NERAMAC and SIMFED in collaboration with the state government. Minister Nath elaborated that the pineapples will first reach Guwahati by train before being flown to Oman.
In his address to the media, Nath highlighted the increasing global demand for Tripura’s Queen pineapples. He announced that the state has also received an order from Dubai for 5 tonnes of the fruit and that discussions are underway for exporting 30 metric tonnes to the Netherlands.
“The state government’s efforts to promote the export of local fruits are yielding substantial benefits for our farmers,” Nath remarked. He noted a remarkable increase in the production of Queen pineapples over the past five years. Prior to the BJP government’s tenure beginning in 2018, the area dedicated to pineapple cultivation in Tripura was 595 hectares. This has since expanded to 5,654 hectares, a nearly tenfold increase.
Tripura’s Queen pineapples have already made their mark internationally. The state has previously exported 33 metric tonnes to Dubai, Qatar, and Bangladesh. Additionally, 12,551 metric tonnes of Queen pineapples have been shipped to various regions outside the state.
