Pineapple

MEETING NO. : XVI

Pineapples were introduced in the Azores in the middle of the 19thcentury, especially on the island of São Miguel, as an ornamental plant. Over the years,theystarted to be grown for consumption in the homes of wealthy families.

At first, pineappleswere grown in pots with production in greenhouses starting later as a result of experimentscarried out by José Bensaude, considered to be the first grower of the Azorean pineapple.

The need to find a replacement for orange trade, after trees were hit by gummosis, was the main reason for the search for a new product to fill the gap left by this fruit in the commercial export circuit.

The first export of pineapples datesfrom November 12, 1864, with London being the destination. There are reports that the number of units exported in 1874 reached 17,000. Production of this fruit in greenhouses is mainly located in the following villages: Fajã de Baixo, São Roque, Vila Franca do Campo, Ribeira das Tainhas, Ponta GarçaandLagoa (south of the island). By 1913, exportshad already been extended to countries like Germany and Russia and the number of exported units reached around 2,000,000 pineapples.

During World War I, this situation changed dramatically given the shutdown of the main export markets but it normalizedwhen the war finished. The decrease in exports happened once again during World War II, but in the 1950s tradewould started with new countries (Sweden, Morocco and Ireland)although without much success.

It takes two years to grow a pineapple from the rhizome until the fruit is ready to harvest, with production taking placeinside glass greenhouses using traditional cultivation techniques: application of smoke and use of warm beds with a base made of vegetable matter. These are the techniques that provide the Azorean pineapple with unique qualities when it comes to its aroma and flavor. António Feliciano de Castilho’swords published in the newspaper “O AgricultorMicalense”[“São Miguel Farmer”] in 1948 are a good example of this:

“A scentedhymn from the earth to the creator … it has a diadem because it cannot cast it away … it has seductions that attract because they were given to it, and those who give everything … if they do not match those fromAmerica, they come quite close…”

Given the need to create anentity that was closer to the producer of this fruit, Profrutos was established on May 2, 1972. The mission of Profrutos is the promotion of the “Azores Pineapple” in the local, regional, national and international markets, aiming for the “Azores Pineapple” to be recognized and appreciated by consumers both as a product with recognized medicinal properties and as areference product of the Azores.

Profrutosis primarily engaged in the marketing of the “Azores Pineapple,” with a market share of about 70% of its total production. Besides its own pineapple production and the production of plants that it supplies to its members, it also sells repair materials for greenhouses and provides invaluable technical support to the producers of this fruit.

Profrutoscurrently has about 270 members and is the management entity of the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) “Azores / São Miguel Pineapple.”