Pineapple - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 323

Table 18.1. Leading pineapple-producing, -exporting, and -importing countries, by quantity-metric
tons.

Producers 2010 Exporters 2009 1 Importers 2009 1

Philippines 2,169,230 Costa Rica 1,511,460 USA 712,945

Brazil 2,120,030 Belgium 273,014 Belgium 290,252

Costa Rica 1,976,760 Philippines 209,532 Germany 202,557

Thailand 1,924,660 Netherlands 197,038 Netherlands 198,087

China 1,518,900 Ecuador 99,465 United Kingdom 144,518

India 1,420,400 USA 88,108 Japan 142,577

Indonesia 1,390,380 Cote d'Ivoire 54,443 Italy 140,453

Nigeria 1,052,000 Panama 50,289 Spain 111,970

Mexico 701,746 Mexico 49,359 Canada 94,792

Viet Nam 477,200 Honduras 48,196 France 94,556

Malaysia 416,070 Germany 31,263 Portugal 70,651

Colombia 398,010 Portugal 23,849 Republic of Korea 54,526

1 Latest data available.
Source: FAO (2011).

the United States, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands,
and the United Kingdom were the top five importers.
Nearly all pineapples consumed in the European market
are imported. The only European countries producing
pineapples are Portugal and Spain, mainly for their internal
markets. Of the total imports, EU imports 42% and the
United States 33% (FAO, 2009a). Costa Rica is by far the
largest exporter of pineapples not only to the European
market but also to North America, supplying 73% of all
imports in 2008 and 82% in 2007. Other suppliers account
for a much smaller share of total imports into the EU:
Cote d Ivoire (6% imports), Ecuador (5%), Panama (4%),
Ghana (4%), Brazil (3%), Honduras (3%) and Cameroon
(1%). Other important players on the North American

pineapple market are Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, and
Honduras, accounting for 3-5% of total imports in 2007
(FAO, 2009b). Hawaii is the only US state that produces
pineapples. The main exporter to Japan is the Philippines
(Felicite-Zulma, 2009). There has been a marked increase
in US imports for fresh pineapples and juice concentrate
since 2000, while canned pineapple imports have remained
fairly flat (FAO, 2011) (Fig. 18.1).

SIGNIFICANCE IN HUMAN HEALTH AND
CONSUMPTION TRENDS
Pineapple is regarded as a healthy fruit being a diuretic,
aids digestion, boosts the immune system, and shows

Figure 18.1. US imports of fresh and canned pineapple and juice concentrates from 2000 to 2009
(source: Adapted from FAO, 2011).