Insight Focus
- Winter production shrinks due to dry weather and absence of rainfall since Q1.
- Farmers lost some of their seeds and are switching to higher returning crops.
- Demand remains strong and so FOB prices are high for Q4.
Thailand Pineapple Production vs El Nino
Thai pineapple farmers have been hit by El Nino. Pineapples have developed poorly this year with stunted growth caused by dry weather, especially the absence of rainfall in Q1’23. During this time the weather was hot as well as dry, so some of the younger pineapple plants wilted and eventually died
Farmers have therefore lost winter pineapple production, leading to a reduction in 2023 output.
Thai Pineapple Output
As a result, we think Thailand will only make around 1m tonnes of pineapple in 2023, the lowest in more than a decade.
As well as losses due to the weather, some farmers have decided to plant cassava and sugar cane instead of pineapple. This is because cassava and cane prices are high and so provide a better return.
Historical Pineapple Yield
Those farmers who chose to grow pineapples now face harvesting delays because the crop is still not mature enough. Processing factories are reporting slow arrival of fruit.
This is unfortunate because demand for pineapple, pineapple juice concentrate (PJC) and processed pineapple (dices, etc.) is still high, especially from Asia and Europe. As a result, pineapple prices have been rising since Q1 and currently stand at 9.60 THB/kg. This is 37% higher than this time last year. We expect the price for pineapple and FOB PJC to continue to rise in Q4.
Historical Pineapple Price
