Pineapple production to cease on Valley Isle

December 2nd, 2009

Filed Under FYI, Hawaiian products | Leave a Comment

It’s with a heavy heart to report that Maui Land and Pineapple have announced that they are shutting their doors after almost 100 years. Planting has been ceased immediately and the harvest will be done by the end of the year. They cite having lost $115 million on the agriculture business since 2002 but invested $20 million in a fresh packing facility and could not continue based on those numbers. Maui Land and Pineapple also announced they would be restructuring operations of the Kapalua Resort in West Maui which is part of its Kapalua Land Company subsidiary. As a result of this closing, close to 300 employees will be without jobs and Oahu as the distinction of the only major pineapple producer in the United States. This is a real loss not only for the island of Maui but for those who have ever had a Maui Gold pineapple. They were quite simply the best pineapples on the planet and will be sorely missed!