NEW DELHI, Aug 18: The state government will fully utilise the great potential of its unique pineapple by increasing its production and diminishing the wastage, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said on Friday.
Inaugurating the first-ever Meghalaya Pineapple Festival in the national capital, Sangma said the hill state produces 1.5 lakh tonnes of pineapple per annum. Out of this almost half the quantity is wasted since the fruit is highly perishable.
The government is trying to establish fruit processing centres where the excess fruits can be processed. One such centre was recently inaugurated in the state, he said.
The government is also trying to have linkages with the farmers to expedite the supply of pineapples as per the increasing demand, the CM said. Many private players like Reliance have been roped in for this purpose, he added.
The state government has organised this festival to further promote and build the market for Meghalaya’s pineapples. The festival will provide an opportunity to Delhiites to enjoy the “fine pineapples” of the state, he said.
The department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Meghalaya Basin Management Authority (MBMA) recently facilitated market linkages of over 1.3 tonnes of pineapples to the Middle East. This is part of the continued efforts to reduce the gulf between the farmers of the state and lucrative international markets.
The pineapples from Meghalaya are being sold across shopping malls in Dubai, Kuwait and Sharjah. More importantly the state’s farmers are enjoying the fruit of their labour with up to two-time increase in price realization from these trades, according to official sources.
Large number of visitors including foreigners attended the festival which also had cultural shows. Besides fresh pineapples, other indigenous produce from Meghalaya were displayed and sold at Dilli Hat, the venue of the festival.
Among those in attendance were Cabinet Ministers Ampareen Lyngdoh and Paul Lyngdoh and Chief Secretary DP Wahlang. Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh was the chief guest on the occasion.
