Tripura is turning its golden-yellow Queen pineapple into a global brand. Buoyed by strong export response from Dubai and Holland, the state is launching an ambitious Rs 132 crore branding and market access campaign under the Union Ministry of DoNER. The initiative aims to elevate the GI-tagged Queen variety—renowned for its aroma, sweetness, and low-input cultivation—from a regional delicacy to a premium tropical export.

Tripura’s unique agro-climatic edge has long nurtured its Queen and Kew pineapple varieties, which flourish in its hilly, rain-fed terrain with minimal chemical use. With an annual production of 1.74 lakh metric tonnes, the state currently exports just a fraction of its output—roughly 10,000 metric tonnes qualify as marketable surplus.

The new project targets a leap in productivity, reduction in post-harvest losses, and enhanced farmer profitability, especially by bridging the current yield gap (14.6 tonnes per hectare vs. the national average of 17 tonnes).

As pineapple emerges as the third most important tropical fruit globally—after banana and citrus—Tripura’s GI-tagged Queen could soon sit at the high table of exotic, branded Indian produce.