While summer is getting severe in south India, the demand for pineapple is on the increase in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, market sources said.
Easy-to-grow nature of pineapple is making it the favourite of fruit vendors, they said, adding its prices are also likely to grow.
Pineapple is priced between Rs 18-20 a kg in the wholesale and retail markets in the commercial town of Kochi, the best-qaulity ones being priced at Rs 15-17 a kg, vendors said.
"The pineapple market was dull during the last months of 2010 and the begining of 2011. But, the last three weeks have seen prices moving up," said Baby John, a Kochi-based farmer.
C. Mathai, the president of Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK), a self-help group of farmers, said the prices
are good for the farmers and it is holding firm as the summer season progresses.
As per the figures, around 13,000 hectares are under pineapple cultivation in Kerala, which itself is a major market for the produce.
The state produces around 3.25 lakh tonnes of the pulpy fruit a year.