NEW DELHI: Tripura’s celebrated Queen pineapple is poised for its biggest leap yet. Banking on its prized GI-tagged fruit, Tripura is launching a three-day global festival in the national capital from June 27, while unveiling an ambitious roadmap to expand cultivation, strengthen processing and transform the pineapple into a flagship agricultural export.
Timed to coincide with International Pineapple Day, the Tripura Global Pineapple Festival 2026 aims to position the Queen pineapple as a premium global brand while showcasing the State’s tourism, handicrafts, bamboo industry and cultural heritage before domestic and international buyers, exporters, policymakers and investors.
The festival is expected to be attended by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Minister of State for DoNER, Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha and several Members of Parliament.
Announcing the initiative, Tripura’s Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ratan Lal Nath, said the State was looking beyond conventional fruit cultivation and envisaged the Queen pineapple as the engine of a broader rural transformation driven by value addition, food processing and exports.
As part of this strategy, the government plans to expand the area under Queen pineapple cultivation from nearly 12,000 hectares to 15,000 hectares over the next three years. It will also establish two bromelain extraction centres and create new food-processing infrastructure to help farmers move beyond selling fresh fruit and tap into high-value domestic and export markets.
“The objective is not only to take Tripura’s pineapple to the global stage but also to promote the State’s tourism, culture and other sectors,” Nath said.
Renowned for its exceptional sweetness, low fibre content and distinctive aroma, the Queen pineapple has emerged as one of Tripura’s most recognised agricultural products. It received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and was declared the State fruit in 2018, giving it a unique identity in India’s horticultural landscape.
Tripura currently grows Queen and Kew pineapple varieties across more than 12,000 hectares, producing about 1.78 lakh metric tonnes annually. However, much of the harvest is still sold as fresh fruit, exposing growers to seasonal price fluctuations, limited shelf life and post-harvest losses.
To unlock greater value, the State has launched a Rs 234-crore project with support from the Centre and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) to strengthen every link in the pineapple value chain—from cultivation and storage to processing, branding and marketing.
Among the flagship initiatives are bromelain extraction facilities in Agartala and Gomati district, along with a plant to extract fibre from pineapple leaves. Bromelain, a natural enzyme obtained from pineapple stems and fruit, has growing demand in the pharmaceutical, food processing, cosmetic and nutraceutical industries.
“Each plant is expected to produce 5,000 to 6,000 kg of bromelain powder annually, with projected revenues of Rs12 crore to Rs18 crore per year,” said Nath.
The State also plans to establish agro-processing units to manufacture pineapple juice, pulp, concentrates and dried fruit products, enabling farmers to capture greater value from their produce instead of relying solely on fresh fruit sales.
The festival will feature 25 exhibition stalls showcasing pineapple-based products, food-processing technologies and agricultural innovations. Five Queen pineapple growers will be honoured for their contribution to promoting the crop.
Tripura Agriculture Secretary Apurba Ray said the combination of scientific cultivation, value addition, branding and better market access could significantly enhance the State’s presence in international fruit markets while ensuring more stable and remunerative incomes for farmers.
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