REPORT TITLE:
Pineapple Research


DESCRIPTION:
Appropriates funds for pineapple research.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2004
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 legislature finds that the pineapple
 
 2 industry is one of the primary agricultural industries in Hawaii
 
 3 and plays a vital role in maintaining Hawaii as a tourist
 
 4 destination.  Pineapple, with a $91.7 million farm value, is the
 
 5 leader of the top ten agricultural commodities in Hawaii
 
 6 according to the 1997 "Statistics of Hawaii Agriculture" report.
 
 7 The industry is a strong economic component of the State's
 
 8 financial base.  The three pineapple companies pay $6.2 million
 
 9 in state taxes, employ 3,000 people with payrolls of more than
 
10 $57 million, and generate $53 million of ancillary support
 
11 business with the airlines, ocean shipping, box manufacturing,
 
12 construction, and distribution industries.
 
13      The legislature further finds that the adverse effects of
 
14 losing this industry would be socially and economically damaging
 
15 to the State.  The pineapple industry sustains a rural lifestyle,
 
16 and preserves a green Hawaii through more than 22,000 acres of
 
17 pineapple fields, many of which preserve significant view plains,
 
18 historic, and archeological sites.
 
19      The legislature further finds that the pineapple industry is
 

 
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 1 more at risk now than in the past because of shifts in market
 
 2 demand and increased global competition, both due primarily to
 
 3 the lower cost of business overseas.  Moreover, on-going research
 
 4 for continuous improvement to the quality and quantity of
 
 5 pineapple production is necessary to maintain and expand the
 
 6 existing industry.  More than $986,000 of proprietary research is
 
 7 conducted by the three pineapple companies each year, and as much
 
 8 as $195,522 of in-kind support is given to support pineapple
 
 9 research appropriations.
 
10      The purpose of this Act is to provide funds needed to
 
11 support pineapple research projects that focus on pervasive
 
12 threats to Hawaii's pineapple industry such as the control of
 
13 mealybug wilt, nematode management, and the control of flowering
 
14 and fruit quality through fruit development and post-harvest
 
15 handling.
 
16      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
17 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $221,413, or so much
 
18 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001, and the
 
19 same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year
 
20 2001-2002, for pineapple research.
 
21      SECTION 3.  The sums appropriated shall be expended by the
 
22 department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.
 

 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
 
 2 
 
 3                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________