Indonesian pineapple exports to China growing fast

Big harvest: Fruits are seen at a market in Berastagi. Indonesia has gained from Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay more for fresh quality fruits. — AFP

JAKARTA: In central Lampung province in the southern part of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, gloved workers are picking ripe pineapples and throwing them onto a conveyor belt, with a truck waiting at the other end to take the fruit to the canning factory.

With sufficient tropical sunshine and high temperatures throughout the year, about 200,000 sweet pineapples are harvested every day at the plantation of PT Great Giant Pineapple (GGP), a large private-label manufacturer of canned pineapples.