Pineapple - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 322

18
Pineapple

R. E. Paull and Maria Gloria Lobo

INTRODUCTION
Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. (Bromeliaceae), known as
pineapple, pi na (Spanish), abacaxi (Portuguese), ananas
(Dutch, German, and French), or nanas (southern Asia and
the East Indies), is the only species of the Bromeliaceae
family grown commercially for its fruit (Morton, 1987). It is
native to southern Brazil and Paraguay, where wild relatives
occur. Laufer (1929) reported that the Native Americans of
the lowland tropics consumed this fruit and distributed it
widely in the Americas and the Caribbean prior to the arrival
of Columbus (Collins, 1960). In 1493, Columbus found the
fruit on the island of Guadaloupe, called it the pi na due to its
resemblance to a pine cone, and brought the “exotic” fruit
back to Spain (UCF, 2009). The antiquity of this fruit, even
at that time, is evidenced by the presence of distinct types,
all of which were nearly or completely seedless. Its wide
use as food, wine, and medicine at the time of Columbus's
arrival in the Americas and the absence of recognizable wild
progenitors of the cultivated pineapple are further evidence
of the pineapple's antiquity (Collins, 1960). The fruit was
spread around the world on sailing ships that carried it for
protection against scurvy. The Spanish introduced it into
the Philippines and may have taken it to Guam early in the
16 th century. The pineapple reached England in 1660 and
began to be grown in greenhouses for its fruit around 1720
(CRFG, 1996). In 1819, 'Cayenne Lisse' variety ('Smooth
Cayenne') from French Guiana (South America) was intro-
duced in Europe and spread over the world in the 19 th and
20 th centuries (Collins, 1951) with other varieties; 'Queen'
and 'Singapore Spanish.'

Early commercial trade in the fresh fruit was limited by
its relatively short shelf life. Thus, Florida, the Bahamas,
Cuba and Puerto Rico supplied the North American
market, Hawaii the west coast of North America and the
Azores the European market. In the early-19th century,
fresh pineapples, still attached to the entire plant, were
sent from the West Indies to Europe (Loudon, 1822). The
canning industry started at the beginning of 19th century
in Southeast Asia, Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean
and Kenya. Southeast Asian industry was destroyed
during World War II and Hawaii gained importance, being
superseded by Cote d'Ivoire, the Philippines and Thailand
at the end of the 1960s (Rohrbach et al., 2003). The fresh
fruit market began expanding after 1945, as refrigerated
sea transport developed and the need for proximity to the
market was reduced (Anon, 2003).

WORLD DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION
After banana and citrus, pineapple is the third most
important fruit in world production. The market for fresh
pineapples is one of the fastest growing in the world, mainly
in Europe and North America, where its importation has
more than tripled since 2000. In 2010, the world production
reached 19.4 million tons, which was 33% higher than
the 14.6 million tons produced in 2000. Table 18.1 shows
major pineapple-producing, -exporting, and -importing
countries. The Philippines, Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand,
and China were the top five pineapple-producing countries.
Costa Rica, Belgium, the Philippines, the Netherlands,
and Ecuador were the top five exporting countries, while