Tripura Queen Pineapple Mission
Why in News?
The Mission Queen Pineapple, Tripura was launched on May 26, 2026, by Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia (MDoNER) and Tripura Chief Minister in a major ₹236 crore initiative to boost farmers' income and exports of Tripura’s GI-tagged Queen Pineapple.
What is the Tripura Queen Pineapple Mission?
- Core Objective: A dedicated, multi-pronged agricultural development program to create an end-to-end "farm-to-global-market" ecosystem.
- Anchor Ministries: Spearheaded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) in active partnership with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and the Government of Tripura.
- Project Timeline: Planned as a three-year intensive blueprint running through the end of fiscal cycle 2028.
- Economic Target: Aims to expand Tripura's localized pineapple economy six-fold, scaling it from a baseline of ₹35 crore to nearly ₹200 crore by 2028.
About Tripura’s Queen Pineapple
- Premium State Fruit: Formally recognized as the official state fruit of Tripura, the Queen variety holds a distinct Geographical Indication (GI) Tag obtained in 2014-15.
- Unique Properties: Renowned for its golden-yellow colour, highly pleasant aroma, sweet flavour, and a distinctively low-fibre internal texture.
- Organic by Default: Grown on the nutrient-rich hilly terrains (Tillas) of the state with minimal chemical inputs, making it naturally organic.
- Current Footprint: Cultivated across 12,097 hectares with an annual yield of 1.77 lakh metric tonnes, predominantly managed by small-scale tribal farmers.
Key Features and Infrastructure Components
- Hub and Spoke Infrastructure: Establishes high-capacity storage hubs near the Agartala airport tightly linked to peripheral cultivation districts via systematic collection hubs.
- Post-Harvest Cold Chains: Funds the building of modern cold storage chambers, localized sorting clusters, and high-efficiency refrigerated transport vans to preserve quality.
- Staggered Crop Management: Deploys off-season cultivation and staggered planting techniques across 2,000 hectares to ensure a steady year-round supply of the fruit.
- The Waste-to-Wealth Waste Facility: Establishes custom processing facilities designed to extract high-value industrial yarn from discarded pineapple leaves.
Significance and Major Benefits
- Bridging Price Disparities: Directly addresses farm gate losses where smallholder farmers get only ₹6 to ₹10 per kg, unlocking realistic premium export valuations of ₹80 to ₹150 per kg.
- Elevated Global Footprint: Reinforces ongoing international supply channels that ship fresh produce directly to premium markets like Dubai, Oman, Germany, Russia, and Holland.
- Rural Livelihood Upliftment: Maximizes financial retention for local communities while generating vast rural processing, logistics, and packaging jobs.
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