Pineapple festival provides market, raises hopes of Manipur’s farmers after long spell of economic loss . Hundreds of farmers who experienced great economic loss earlier this year due to bamboo flowering and economic blockade of Manipur, now have a reason to smile again. A good harvest of pineapples and high demand in the local market have given them a chance to cover their loss. Achungmei , the correspondent of this video visited a pineapple festival in her neibouring Thoubal district where pineapple growers from dozens of villages marketed their products.

Manipur is one of the largest pineapple producing states in India.

The state produces 70,000 Mega tones of pineapple annually which is grown on nearly 10,000 hectares of land. Most of the farming is done through Jhum/slash and burn method.

The 8-month availability of pineapples in Manipur makes the state highly advantageous for processing and export. The two most-sought-after varieties of pineapple here are Kew (big size) and Queen (small size). The Queen variety is the most suitable for preparation of juice, pulp and squash and so Manipur has become a great resource state for India’s growing food processing industry.

According to Achungmei, from April – June this year, Manipur had a 69-long day economic blockade which caused a lot of hardship for her entire community. Prices shot up like never before and there basic amenities became difficult tog et. The destruction of bamboo forests through bamboo flowering only added to this hardship. The bumper harvest of pineapple and the pineapple festivals are the first joyous occasion and Achungmei and her whole family shared this joy with her community members.