New growth for pineapple farming

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Pineapple farming in Hawai'i declined sharply in the past few years at the hands of two agribusiness industry giants, but increasing numbers of small farmers see sweet opportunity in the crop long associated with the Isles.

"Call us crazy, but let's hope we're crazy like a fox — not crazy crazy," said Craig Bowden, a farm industry veteran who partnered to start two local pineapple farm ventures three years ago and has rapidly expanded.

Bowden was one of 42 pineapple growers in the state in 2007, up from 34 in 2002 and 27 in 1997, according to the three most recent farm census reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The rise in pineapple farming involves mostly small farms, so the crop isn't about to reclaim its crown as king of Hawai'i agriculture — a title lost in 2006 to seed crops.

But the niche growth for pineapple is helping maintain agriculture's roots in Hawai'i and counters a perception for some that pineapple farming is dying out in the state.

"It's part of Hawai'i," said Mark Hudson, statistician for the state Department of Agriculture.

Plantation-scale pineapple farming in Hawai'i has suffered over several decades from competition largely from Central America and Asia where land and labor costs are cheaper. Hawai'i's pineapple production by acreage actually peaked in 1955, though the value of annual pineapple sales topped out in 1991 at $108 million.

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