REPORT TITLE:
Pineapple research


DESCRIPTION:
Appropriates funds to support pineapple research projects that
focus on pervasive threats to Hawaii's pineapple industry.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1993
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR PINEAPPLE RESEARCH.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The pineapple industry is one of the primary
 
 2 agricultural industries in Hawaii and plays a vital role in
 
 3 maintaining Hawaii as a tourist destination.  According to the
 
 4 1997 "Statistics of Hawaii Agriculture" report, pineapple, at a
 
 5 $91,700,000 farm value, is the leader of the top ten agriculture
 
 6 commodities in Hawaii.  The legislature further finds that the
 
 7 industry is a strong economic component of the State's financial
 
 8 base.  The three pineapple companies pay $6,200,000 in state
 
 9 taxes, employ 3,000 people with payrolls of more than
 
10 $57,000,000, and generate $53,000,000 of ancillary support
 
11 business with the airline, ocean shipping, box manufacturing,
 
12 construction, and distribution industries.
 
13      The legislature finds that losing this industry would be
 
14 socially and economically damaging to the State.  The pineapple
 
15 industry sustains a rural lifestyle and preserves a green Hawaii
 
16 with its more than 22,000 acres of pineapple fields, many of
 
17 which preserve significant view plains.
 
18      The legislature further finds that the pineapple industry is
 
19 more at risk now than in the past because of shifts in market
 
20 demands and increased global competition primarily due to the
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 lower overseas cost of business.  In order to maintain and expand
 
 2 the existing industry, ongoing research for continuous
 
 3 improvement to the quality and quantity of pineapple production
 
 4 is necessary.   Accordingly, more than $986,000 of proprietary
 
 5 research is conducted by the three pineapple companies per year,
 
 6 and as much as $195,522 of in-kind support is given annually to
 
 7 support pineapple research appropriations.
 
 8      The purpose of this Act is to provide funds to support
 
 9 pineapple research projects that focus on pervasive threats to
 
10 Hawaii's pineapple industry, such as control of mealybug wilt,
 
11 nematode management, and control of flowering and fruit quality
 
12 through fruit development and post-harvest handling.
 
13      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
14 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $221,413 or so much
 
15 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001 for
 
16 pineapple research.
 
17      SECTION 3.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
18 department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.
 
19      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
 
20 
 
21                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________