People and pineapples in the Philippines
Growing, harvesting and packing pineapples destined for New Zealand is a passion and purpose for Dole plantation employees in the Philippines.
The island of Mindanao is known as the ‘food basket’ of the Philippines. Eight of the top 10 agri-commodities exported from the Philippines come from the island including Dole pineapples. The farm that grows the pineapples, known as Dolefil, is celebrating its 55th anniversary in the Philippines this year.
Dole’s pineapple plantations cover 24,000 hectares on Mindanao near the city of General Santos.
Seedlings are grown under lab conditions for four weeks, then split and planted into pots of ground coconut shell used as a growing medium. They are then transferred to the nurseries to allow the root structures to develop before transplanting. Some of the pineapples are also propagated from the heads of mature pineapple plants. When the crowns are removed Dole takes the best specimens and replants them in the nursery. Once planted the crown produces new shoots which are removed and planted as new plants. The crowns that are not used are ground up and composted. This compost is then used to enrich the soil for future crops.
Harvesting the pineapples is done using purpose-built boom harvesters. They slowly move through the plantation allowing the fruit to be selected for its correct level of ripeness by the hand pickers who then attach them to the automatic conveyor belts. These conveyors carry the fruit to the centre of the harvester where the trucks are hand loaded. The trucks then transport the fruit to the nearest packing shed.
On arrival at the packing sheds the pineapples are washed to remove any unwanted bugs or waste material. They are then washed again under high pressure water sprays to remove any residue. Some of the crowns are removed and recycled. The crowns are removed to comply with biosecurity regulations in New Zealand.
At the packing benches the fruit is graded by hand. The packers have to pack for multiple markets at the same time, including New Zealand, which requires concentration and skill. This may be based on the size, shape, waste or whether or not the crowns have been removed.
From the pack house the fruit is transported in refrigerated trucks to the port in Davao. They wait in the cool store before being loaded into Dole refrigeration reefer ships and ensuring they arrive in peak condition.