Pineapple nation

Pineapples are the third most popular tropical fruit in the world according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

In Vietnam, the cultivation and output of this fruit are growing fast with 37,800 ha of land now devoted to pineapple farming and an average export of 292,000 tons per year.

Export turn-over is steadily increasing as well from US$4.8 million in 1997 to $7.5 million in 2001.

Like other fruits, fresh pineapple is classified into several parts: the flesh which is processed for various products such as canned fruit, pineapple liquor and sweet preserved pineapple; and by-products, including the outer skin, two heads and a central core.

These can be used for other environmentally sustainable purposes such as developing organic fertilizer or making a type of cattle-food known as “bran.”

However, unlike other countries where pineapple-waste processing plants are being developed on an industrial scale, Vietnam has yet to follow suit.

Most of the fruit and vegetable processing plants in the country haven't invested in environmentally sustainable methods of production.

What's more, untreated pineapple waste has been shown to have a detrimental impact on the environment due to its potential for methane generation.

Without any other method for disposing of the by-products, thou-sands of tons of pineapple waste are dumped each day.

According to an annual report from Tien Giang Fruit and Vegetable Processing Plant in Vietnam, the enterprise spends more than VND200 million ($12,500) per year employing a sanitation company to dispose of over 100 tons of pineapple per day.

In an effort to reduce waste and make more efficient use most of this valuable natural resource, the Vietnamese government approved a research project from 2002 to 2004.

Researchers successfully designed and manufactured a suitable model that could process 250 kg of pineapple waste per hour for an investment cost of around $12,500.

However, the technology still exists as a model only and depending on the size of the processing plant, the cost for the new technology could be more than some companies are willing to pay.

According to Tran Van Khu, head of research and the permanent deputy director of the Southern-Sub-Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology, after two years, the research group succeeded in manufacturing a pineapple-waste press by using a screw-press technique and a barrel dryer technique for drying the fruit.

“After being pressed and dried, the total quantity of juice [from a pineapple] can be up to 80 percent of its weight. That can then be used to produce dinner wine and soft drinks and its waste can be used to manufacture cattle-feed instead of throwing it away as before,” Khu said in praise of the new machinery.

So far, however, no pineapple processing plants have been willing to invest in the new technology, according to Khu.

Despite knowing that the factories are contributing to environmental pollution, and also realizing that pineapple by-products can be extremely useful, the new machinery has yet to win over Vietnamese plant owners.

Most say that the benefit gained from the new methods is not worth the high cost of the initial investment.

A machine that can process one-ton-per-hour of pineapple waste could cost up to VND650 million ($40,400), although considering how much companies pay each year to have their waste hauled away, some say that not investing, may be short-sighted.

Khu has suggested that the government should enforce strict regulations that would obligate investors to equip their plants with waste-processing machinery.

And the regulations should not be limited just to pineapple processing, but also to other kinds of agricultural products to help curb overall environmental degradation.

Additionally, he says, more awareness should be raised about the issue and information about research should be distributed more effectively.

Source: Thanhnien