Pineapple sales triple following alcohol sales ban

With the new ban on the sale of alcohol,  pineapples have been flying off the shelves. It’s not only the lure of homemade pineapple beer that has made them so popular; they also have massive health benefits.

Normally 10 000 of fresh pineapples are sold countrywide per day. Since the alcohol sales ban, three times more fresh pineapples are sold weekly. The price also tripled.

More than three-quarters of the country’s pineapples are grown in the Bathurst area, which is also home to the world’s biggest pineapple. Pineapple plants take two years to bear fruit. The Cayenne pineapple is popular for its juice, and can weigh up to four kilograms.

The price of the fruit rocketed at the beginning of lockdown in March and dropped again dramatically when alcohol sales were allowed. But Secretary of the Pineapple Growers Association Lee Botha says with the recent ban on alcohol sales, the fruit became even more popular than before.

“Sales have definitely increased by tripled if not 100%. Fresh fruit sales are incredible! The demand for pineapples is outstanding at this stage, especially with the ban on alcohol sales once again. So we are selling over 100 tons of fresh pineapples to the different markets,” he says.

Pineapple is a unique fruit with several health advantages.

“It is highly rich in Vitamin C and the bromaline in the pineapple, which is a natural anti-inflammatory, is very good for a person. In fact, there is more Vitamin C in a pineapple than in an orange. And especially for a cough mixture, fresh pineapple juice is the best thing you can use,” Botha adds.

The Cayenne pineapple is also the pine of choice for making beer.

Botha explains: “The actual peel of the pineapple has its own natural yeast in it, and then, of course, the sugar content which we call bricks, causes and makes a wonderful alcohol beverage.”

The majority of this fruit is processed in East London. The extract is exported. The crowns of the fruit are removed before processing to be replanted. Those sold as fresh fruit, keep the crown.

Pineapple farmer Richard Muir says it is a labour intensive business and transport is costly.

“20% of my annual production will hopefully go to the fresh fruit market now, where previously it was 100% to the juice market. So I think, because of the demand, hopefully, the price will also be slightly adjusted in the right direction for us.”