Recently, the price of raw pineapple in Thailand has fallen to its lowest level since 2001.

 

Some Thai pineapple canning plants stopped production and maintenance in July/August and are expected to resume winter processing in early October. In order to balance the market supply and demand, this year's shutdown time is longer than in previous years.

 

The Thai-based Food News magazine's contacts added that farmers have switched to other crops in the past month due to the low price of pineapple purchases, and that next year's (2019) harvest is expected to be even smaller. "Again, only traditional pineapple growers are left to supply canneries." Industry sources said that Thailand's pineapple raw material supply is expected to be the same as last year, but no official data has yet been released.

 

In addition to tropical fruits and maize, farmers are now turning to other more profitable crops, such as cassava, sugar cane or rubber, palm oil or coconut.

 

Industry insiders said that although pineapple crops in winter from October are expected to be smaller than last year, there will be no shortage of raw materials.

 

The main local canneries are "still busy packing," said a Thai insider. "Canneries have enough raw materials for processing, especially from traditional cooperative farms."

 

The latest price of pineapple raw materials is 2.5-2.8 baht per kilogram. Fruit prices in October, November and December are expected to be 4-5 baht per kilogram. "This is a sustainable price for farmers, factories and markets," the source said.