Mission Queen Pineapple and Queen Pineapple

About Mission Queen Pineapple and Queen Pineapple

About Mission ‘Queen Pineapple’

• It is an initiative for pineapple cultivation and value chain development in Tripura.
• Duration: The Mission is designed as a three-year implementation roadmap from the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 through the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2028 for promoting Tripura’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP), the GI-tagged Queen Pineapple.
• Funding: Its total outlay is ₹236 crore.
• Nodal Ministry: Its nodal ministry is the  Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
• Aim: It aims to bridge this gap through convergence-led investments and market-oriented interventions that will significantly enhance farmer value realisation.
• Objective: It focus to increase merely crop cultivation and enabling farmers to become active players across the entire value chain, from production and aggregation to processing, branding, packaging and exports.
• Features:
  • Convergence-led initiative: It builds upon convergence with Schemes and interventions of the Ministries of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Food Processing Industries, Commerce, MSME, APEDA, DPIIT, ICAR, CSIR, TRIFED, NERAMAC and the Government of Tripura for establishing an integrated pineapple value-chain ecosystem in the State.
  • Infrastructure component: It will establish a “Hub & Spoke” integrated pineapple post-harvest ecosystem comprising one central Hub near Agartala airport and eight spoke collection centers across major pineapple-growing clusters of West Tripura, Khowai and Sepahijala districts.
    • The infrastructure will include grading facilities, cold storage, reefer logistics, solar cold storage, IoT-enabled farm monitoring and digital traceability systems.
  • Revival of Pineapple Processing Unit: It also includes the revival of the Nalkata Pineapple Processing Unit through a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) model to support commercial-scale processing and value addition for pineapple-based products.
  • Bio-economy strategy: Nearly 60 per cent of the pineapple plant, presently discarded as waste, would be converted into value-added products through Bromelain extraction, Pineapple Leaf Fibre (PALF) processing and GI-branded confectionery units.
    • These interventions would create new opportunities for women SHGs, tribal communities and rural entrepreneurs and will also strengthen the circular economy around pineapple cultivation.

About Queen Pineapple

• The Queen Pineapple is the state fruit of Tripura.
• The variety is believed to have been cultivated over 200 years.
• Climatic condition:
  • It is commercially propagated by suckers in Tripura.
  • Slope Requirement: An area with 30–40% slope is generally selected for cultivation.
  • Soil: Its plants require sandy soil and good drainage to prevent water logging.
  • Temperature: Ideal temperature range of 180°C to 32°C is most favorable for its cultivation
• Features:
  • This pineapple is distinguished from pineapples grown in other parts of Northeast India due to its exceptional sweetness and unique aroma.
  • It has high nutritional value and contains appreciable amounts of potassium and calcium.
  • The favorable climatic conditions for pineapple cultivation eliminate the need for chemical inputs, resulting in produce that is free from pesticide residues.
  • When fully ripe, the fruits develop an attractive orange-yellow colour.
• It has got Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2015.
  • Tripura, is one of the largest pineapple growing states of India with commercial scale plantations spread across the state’s length and breadth.