Agartala: Tripura chief minister Manik Saha on Saturday inaugurated the three-day Tripura Global Pineapple Festival 2026 at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, alongside Union minister of state for DoNER Dr Sukanta Mujumdar and state agriculture minister Ratan Lal Nath.The festival brought together policymakers, farmers, traders and exporters to promote Tripura’s GI-tagged Queen Pineapple as a premium product and to strengthen the state’s profile as a horticulture hub in the northeast.Saha said the event is meant to showcase the quality of Tripura’s pineapple, expand market opportunities for growers and promote the state’s tourism, agriculture and cultural offerings. He noted that Tripura’s queen pineapple reached markets in Europe, the Middle East and major Indian cities in the last five years.“In response to the increasing demand for Tripura’s pineapple, we plan to grow the area dedicated to queen pineapple cultivation from 12,000 hectares to 15,000 hectares over the next three years, along with establishing two bromelain extraction centres in Agartala and Gomati district,” Dr Saha stated.The festival will feature around 25 exhibition stalls by state govt departments highlighting agricultural products, tourism destinations, handicrafts, rural industries and development projects. Saha said the festival will recognise growers, expand domestic and international market access, attract investment in horticulture and position Tripura for agriculture-linked tourism, with an emphasis on building an export-oriented value chain to improve farmer earnings.Tripura’s queen pineapple received the Geographical Indication tag and was declared the state fruit in 2018. The state produced about 1.78 lakh metric tonnes of pineapple this year.“We have embarked on a project valued at Rs 234 crore, supported by the central govt and DoNER, to enhance marketing and processing of queen pineapple,” Saha said. He added that the state has launched Mission Queen Pineapple to accelerate growth in the sector.The three-year programme, estimated at Rs 236 crore, targets higher production, stronger post-harvest infrastructure, greater value addition and higher farmer incomes. Agriculture minister Nath said the aim is to ensure Tripura’s summer fruit reaches consumers across the country.
