The Government will move ahead with a plan to improve “Azores Pineapple” in order to reinforce the production quality and marketing.
The decision, announced by the Secretary of the Presidency in Ponta Delgada on Monday, was approved at the meeting of the Council of the Government held last Wednesday.
The “Azores Pineapple,” with acknowledged Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), is a product strongly associated with the image of the Region with significant economic and historical importance, given its distinctive quality as well as its high gastronomic, cultural and landscape value.
Nevertheless, the Azorean Government is aware that factors such as “the high seasonality of production and the decrease of production structures” are “difficulties which this product faces in the effort to recover outdoor pineapple production, which has been introduced in the market in the meantime.”
Hence, “it is essential to develop a strategic plan for the restructuring and recovery of the regional fruit production sector, involving its agents and strengthening partnerships and joint efforts to promote the quality and value of this product in the regional and national markets,” stated André Bradford when presenting the press release of the last meeting on the Council of the Government.
The Regional Secretary explained that the plan for the improvement of “Azores Pineapple” will comprise the “support to research, revision of technical and financial support system, the updating of the specifications concerning the protected origin and the legal framework for production protection.”