The price of ripe pineapple has risen to a record ₹42 a kg in the wholesale market, triggering a flurry of activities from brisk sale of pineapple suckers to rising lease rates of potential pineapple farms. The table-ready ripe fruit is being sold at as high as around ₹70 a kg in the retail market, with some retailers even selling the fruit at a slightly higher rate.
According to pineapple farmers, the price in November is an all-time high. In November 2013, the price of ripe fruit was ₹30 a kg. In 2015, the price had come down to ₹13 a kg, while in November last year, it was ₹33 a kg. The COVID-19 years (2019 and 2020) had seen prices of ready ripe fruit ruling at ₹30 a kg and ₹21 a kg respectively.
While the green fruit price has seen much volatility throughout 2023, the price has more or less been steady for the ripe fruit, rising from ₹35 a kg in December 2022 to ₹42 a kg in November this year.
