BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 12th July 2025: Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath today informed that to boost the income of pineapple cultivators, the department is planning to set up a new fruit processing centre under the PPP model in Nalkata.
He also stated that in the last seven years, the department has exported 73.15 metric tonnes (MT) of pineapple to Dubai, Oman, and Qatar.
Minister Nath said this while addressing the Pineapple Festival at Geetanjali Auditorium in Kumarghat of Unakoti District.
The Minister also informed that the state government is working to obtain the GI tag for Sidol Shutki (fermented fish), Sabri banana, and several other products.
“After our government came, we declared Queen pineapple as the state fruit. Queen pineapple already has a GI tag nobody can copy it. Our main aim is to expand the production and market of pineapple. We need to produce it more, and for that, such events are being organised. We have also organised buyers and sellers meet on organic products, which was held for the first time for various items like pineapple, bird’s eye chilli, and ginger — all of which are organic,” he said.
The Minister stated that in the state, 3.65 lakh kani of land is used for fruit cultivation, of which 74,000 kani is used for pineapple.
“Of this, Kew variety is cultivated in 53,700 kani of land in Dhalai, Unakoti, and North Districts, while Queen variety is cultivated in 22,000 kani. After our government came to power in 2018, the price of pineapple was around Rs 8 to Rs 9. Now, it has increased to around Rs 40 or more. Our main aim is to help farmers and increase their income. The Union DoNER Ministry is working to make Queen pineapple a global brand. We have held meetings with Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia twice and are planning to undertake a scheme worth Rs 132 crore,” said the Minister.
The Agriculture Minister also informed that from 2018 to 2025, a total of 73.15 MT of pineapple was exported to Dubai, Oman, and Qatar. In addition 4.40 MT of jackfruit were exported to America, and 30 MT of ginger and 17 MT of betel leaf were exported to Bangladesh.“Our main aim is to strengthen the farmers so that the economy of our state grows,” he added.
“We are also going to take a decision to set up a fruit processing factory under the PPP model in Nalkata,” he informed.On the same day, the Minister also visited a pineapple processing centre in Kumarghat.During the event, MLA Bhagaban Das, ARDD and Fisheries Minister Sudhangshu Das, and others were present.
