ABSTRACT
Malaysia is one of the important countries for the world’s pineapple industry. In 2017, Malaysia was ranked number 19 as the top pineapple producing country, and number five as the top exporter of pineapples in the world. Every year Malaysia produces more than 350,000 Mt of pineapples....
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Ananas comosus, or pineapple is a one of the most popular tropical fruits in Malaysia. It is categorized in a group of major fruit because that has a great potential to generate incomes for farmers, as well as countries. Its popularity is due to its multi-forms in consumption....
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Taking CNA through his pineapple field in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, 47 year-old Taiwanese farmer Tai Jui-chen (戴睿辰) carefully lifts a corner of large black tarp to reveal row upon row of pineapples based on a strain he brought from Taiwan.
Nicknamed the "Pineapple Bro of Chiang Rai" by his fellow Taiwanese entrepreneurs, Tai is the number one Taiwanese farmer in Thailand when it comes to growing pineapples.
Tai originally comes from a Tainan family that has farmed pineapples in the city's Guanmiao District for about 30 years.
In 2016, he decided to take the farming skills he learned from his family and his many years of experience in the business to Thailand, where set about becoming a successful farmer in his own right.
When Tai arrived in Thailand, he first planted 10 hectares of pineapples using seedlings mainly from popular Taiwanese strains.
According to the pineapple farmer, he decided to plant Taiwan pineapple seedlings after noticing Thailand pineapple strains contain thicker fibers that produce the enzyme complex bromelain which stimulates a more aggressive chemical reaction to the human tongue than the thinner fibers found in Taiwan strains.
Tai also noticed the difference in farming technique between what he learned in Taiwan and Thailand also led to significant difference in pineapple quality.
In Thailand, Tai said farmers tend to use chemical fertilizers to speed up the growth of the fruit. That ensures Thailand pineapples are often harvested earlier, but failure to use tarps to provide the fruit with protective shade often lead to poor quality pineapples.
"The agriculture industry here in Thailand often suffers from the inability to export," Tai said, adding "that is because they use too much chemical fertilizer when growing their products."
In contrast, Tai uses amine based and natural fertilizers from Taiwan to achieve a level of farming which he claims to be almost organic. In addition, he does not use pesticide and utilizes fabric tarps to protect his more delicate strain of pineapples and prevent weed growth.
After a period of trial and error learning about Thailand's unique soil and weather patterns, Tai's pineapple plantation grew from 10 hectares to what is now a 150 hectare pineapple farm, the largest run by a Taiwanese farmer in Thailand.
Read more here.