For almost 100 years, the pineapple was one of the most popular and endearing symbols of Hawaii. It was grown and processed commercially on all of the major islands, but especially on Lana'i, known as the Pineapple Island, where Dole Co owned 98% of the land and used much of it for growing pineapples.
Labor costs were 25 times those of Southeast Asia, however, and Hawaii's share of the pineapple market plummeted rapidly beginning in the 1960s. Dole sold all of its holdings in Lanai to a holding company that developed two major resorts operated by Four Seasons, and early in the 21st century, Hawaii's pineapple production ceased. A group of former employees of the Maui Land and Pineapple Company formed the Hali'imaile Pineapple company, and acquired the rights to a large, juicy variety designed for consumption as fresh, rather than canned, fruit. Trading as the Maui Gold Pineapple Company, it now plants 1300 acres on the slopes of Haleakala volcano, and supplies fresh pineapples to Costco and other retailers on Maui and the West Coast. Maui is the only island currently producing pineapples commercially, and the last island growing and refining sugar, the other traditional agricultural industry that fired the Hawaiian economy, together with tourism and the military. Pineapples grow slowly, taking 18 months to mature. This image shows a growing pineapple visible on the edge of a planted field. http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=17960778&size=lg Comments are invited. Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
