Prior to the loss of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), Pakistan was growing pineapples in sizeable volumes (150 thousand metric tons). As a matter of fact this fruit is rarely grown now-a-days in Pakistan.
Only Sindh has a small area of semi-tropical climate in Thatta and Badin Dist. where pineapples are grown modestly (About 16 thousands metric tons annually).
By broad-basing its production, this non-traditional fruit can be pretty useful for our economy.
In order to make our agriculture, both in the public and private sectors, familiar with the cultivation of this fruit, an overview of its world production is given in the following paragraphs:
An overview of pineapple produced globally vis-à-vis Pakistan:
Available statistics of pineapple production in various continents, countries and regions are given in the table below:

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Production of pineapple in 1000 m/ton
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WORLD/REGION              PRODUCTION:
                    (000 metric tons)
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World                           10063
Africa                           1206
North America                    1284
South America                    1469
Asia:                            6489
Bangladesh                        150
China                             430
India                             350
Philippine                       2250
Thailand                         1171
Pakistan                           16
Europe                              1
Australia                         154
New Zealand                         6
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Source: FAO production year book.
The pineapple originated in Parana, the Paraguay river drainage area. Major producing areas in the world are; Brazil, Malaysia, Hawaii, Philippines, Kenya, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia, the Ivory Coast, South Africa, Martinique, Guinea, Puerto Rico, West Indies and Cuba. Israel and Spain have also introduced it in the past fifty years.
VARIETIES: The most popular cultivator is cayenne but other cultivators have also been selected to fit in the local micro climates/or local industrial uses.
Queen is a popular cultivator of Queensland (Australia) and has also been tried in South Africa and Spain. Red Spanish is popular in the West Indies, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cayenne is the standard cultivator. It is cold sensitive.
Queen has prickly skin and in mild winters, it becomes very sweet. Smooth cayenne is tropical but has also been grown in the sub-tropics.
The climate in Sindh is such that both varieties Queensland (Australia) are worth a trial, to start with.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS: Optimum temperature ranges for pineapple growth is l8-33,350 C. Certain varieties can grow in the sub-tropics, but flavour will be affected if, the temperature falls below 250C.
Prolonged cold retards growth, causes the fruit to become more acidic and the harvest is delayed by 30-40 days.
The crop is mainly adopted to well-drained and deep acidic soils (pH) below 7.0 but does well in pH of 5.6 to 6.0. But most varieties can be grown under pH 6.0 to 7.0.
Some varieties can also be raised on soils having a pH of 7.5, as in the Sindh province, provided that the iron deficiency is controlled by a spray of ferrous chelates.
Water drought can adversely affect the crop yield and the crop has to be limited to perennially irrigated areas.
In the sunny area, there is the danger of damage to the fruit by sunscald, during the later stages of fruit development and the danger of heart rot in colder areas.
Edible pulp forms 60 percent of the total weight of the fruit and its chemical composition is as under:

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Water     85     percent
Protein  0.4     percent
Sugar     14     percent
Fat      0.4     percent
Fibre    0.5     percent
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Other ingredients are vitamin A, Vitamin B, ascorbic acid, iron phosphorus and bromelain, a protein digesting enzyme.
USES: Edible pulp is used for dessert purpose. Fruits are harvested when fully ripe, for the best flavour. But ripe fruit has a shelf life of only 4.5 days.
For shipping, half-ripe fruits may be transported at 7-10 centigrade and can have a shelf life of 812 days, from the date of harvest.
In commercially important countries, the major part of the harvested fruit is canned. The flesh of fully mature fruit can be quickly frozen. Leaves, after rotting, yield a 23 percent strong white silky fibre, 3850 cms (1420) inches in length and are used for making a fine fabric called pina cloth. Fibre is also used for cordage.
For fibre production, special cultivators are raised and the young fruitlets formed after flowering are removed. Textile fibre cannot be raised economically from plants raised for fruit.
Cultivators raised for fibre require less care and inputs and are quite economical, vis-à-vis the capital inputs on plants for fruit.
Pineapple juice is produced via a special process involving milling, paddling in screw expellers and it undergoes pre-treating, centrifuging, pasteurising and sterilising.
THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS USED FOR PROPAGATION: Suckers, which arise from buds in the leaf axil, above the fruit, on the main crop, and below the fruit on the ratoons. Shoots or leafy branches arising from buds in the leaf axil.
Each plant produces upto 3 shoots and reaches 1216 inches height before they are transplanted.
Slips which vary up to 10 per plant and these are suitable for planting when their weight is about 300-450 grams.
HAPAS OR SHOOTS PRODUCED AT THE BASE OF PEDUNCLE: For economic purposes, a fruit supply, the year round, can be induced by chemical spraying. Fruit size can also be regulated chemically.
Ripening time varies with climate but is also controlled by chemicals. Planting density of about 15,000-18000 per acre is common in a double row with a distance of three feet between each double row. Double rows are about 2 feet apart and within the row, plants are 10-12 inches apart.
A yield of 25 tonnes acres is very common in Hawaii and some farmers are getting a yield of 40-50 tons per acre. Fumigation for nematode control increases yield and improves quality of fruit.
Like the banana, the pineapple is a heavy potassium feeder and needs twice as much potash as nitrogen. It also needs phosphate as well as micro-nutrients. It responds quite well to foliar feeding and farmyard manurers.
From the above discussion it is quite clear that pineapple (a non-traditional fruit in Pakistan) has proved a boom, adding a large lot to the economic wealth of the major pineapple growing countries as it is also pretty expensive, price wise. It is presently not selling in Pakistan.
Although its pulp, is not much relished much but it is used extensively by bakers for preparation of cakes. A pineapple case of one pound fetches about Rs 100 per piece in retail transactions.
As local production of the fruit is nominal in Pakistan, it largely depends on imports for meeting its requirements mainly from abroad and in a canned and processed form.
In order to reap the above advantages of growing the fruit in the semi-tropical climate of Sindh and other parts of the country, it would be worthwhile to popularise its production by giving the necessary incentives and providing the necessary technical guidance.