TROPICAL FRUITS

Passion fruit resembles shriveled black eggs. Some American grocers have thrown shipments away because the didn't realize the fruit was supposed look wrinkled when it was ripe.

Native to South America and grown in India, New Zealand, Brazil and other places, passion fruit has a soft, juicy interior full of seeds, being commonly found in juices to boost their flavors. There are two types of passion fruit: the golden one (maracuyã), similar to a grapefruit and the dark purple passion fruit (gulupa), comparable in terms of size with a lemon. However, the latter ones have been reported as being mildly poisonous. [Source: http://www.hotelclub.com/blog/10-must-try-exotic-fruits/

“ Tropical Fruit” by the British-born Malaysian writer Desmond Tate (Tuttle, 2001).

Websites and Resources: bijlmakers.com/fruits/tropicalfruits ; Tropical Fruits Index and Pictures proscitech.com ; Fruit Trees and Plants tropical-plants-flowers-and-decor.com/fruit-list ;

World’s Top Tropical Fruit Producing Countries

Toddy tapper World’s Top Producers of Fresh Tropical Fruit nes (2020): 1) India: 6207044 tonnes; 2) China: 3797451 tonnes; 3) Philippines: 3229279 tonnes; 4) Thailand: 2881604 tonnes; 5) Indonesia: 2182615 tonnes; 6) Bangladesh: 1095124 tonnes; 7) Iran: 975483 tonnes; 8) Brazil: 690364 tonnes; 9) Colombia: 582375 tonnes; 10) Spain: 578280 tonnes; 11) Pakistan: 486555 tonnes; 12) Mexico: 452859 tonnes; 13) Taiwan: 405891 tonnes; 14) Madagascar: 242034 tonnes; 15) Peru: 241513 tonnes; 16) Italy: 214030 tonnes; 17) Dominican Republic: 174311 tonnes; 18) Tunisia: 100896 tonnes; 19) Zambia: 85009 tonnes; 20) Malaysia: 81544 tonnes ; [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org. Nes means “Not elsewhere specified or included”. A tonne (or metric ton) is a metric unit of mass equivalent to 1,000 kilograms (kgs) or 2,204.6 pounds (lbs). A ton is an imperial unit of mass equivalent to 1,016.047 kg or 2,240 lbs.]

World’s Top Producers (in terms of value) of Fresh Tropical Fruit nes (2019): 1) India: Int.$3485810,000 ; 2) China: Int.$2428645,000 ; 3) Philippines: Int.$1853909,000 ; 4) Indonesia: Int.$1540030,000 ; 5) Thailand: Int.$1482577,000 ; 6) Bangladesh: Int.$578722,000 ; 7) Iran: Int.$464393,000 ; 8) Spain: Int.$379895,000 ; 9) Colombia: Int.$369013,000 ; 10) Brazil: Int.$340200,000 ; 11) Mexico: Int.$280673,000 ; 12) Pakistan: Int.$246698,000 ; 13) Taiwan: Int.$196875,000 ; 14) Madagascar: Int.$151065,000 ; 15) Peru: Int.$137606,000 ; 16) Tunisia: Int.$60614,000 ; 17) Zambia: Int.$48574,000 ; 18) South Sudan: Int.$37662,000 ; 19) Malaysia: Int.$35166,000 ; [An international dollar (Int.$) buys a comparable amount of goods in the cited country that a U.S. dollar would buy in the United States.]

World’s Top Tropical Fruit Exporting Countries

World’s Top Exporters of Fresh Tropical Fruit nes (2020): 1) Thailand: 620877 tonnes; 2) Hong Kong: 333351 tonnes; 3) Egypt: 53200 tonnes; 4) China: 51342 tonnes; 5) United States: 28914 tonnes; 6) Dominican Republic: 20083 tonnes; 7) Senegal: 17301 tonnes; 8) Malaysia: 16968 tonnes; 9) Vietnam: 12089 tonnes; 10) Indonesia: 11011 tonnes; 11) Burkina Faso: 8198 tonnes; 12) South Africa: 7737 tonnes; 13) Australia: 6194 tonnes; 14) Taiwan: 4257 tonnes; 15) Mali: 3084 tonnes; 16) Mozambique: 1865 tonnes; 17) Philippines: 1048 tonnes; 18) Netherlands: 866 tonnes; 19) Lithuania: 831 tonnes; 20) Nigeria: 445 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org, nes means “Not elsewhere specified or included”]

World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Fresh Tropical Fruit nes (2020): 1) Thailand: US$2072974,000; 2) Hong Kong: US$726131,000; 3) China: US$94772,000; 4) Vietnam: US$71397,000; 5) United States: US$51425,000; 6) Egypt: US$44979,000; 7) Burkina Faso: US$27517,000; 8) Indonesia: US$24590,000; 9) Dominican Republic: US$22056,000; 10) Australia: US$21997,000; 11) Malaysia: US$17586,000; 12) Senegal: US$14363,000; 13) South Africa: US$14257,000; 14) Taiwan: US$7357,000; 15) Canada: US$6421,000; 16) Netherlands: US$1745,000; 17) Lithuania: US$1471,000; 18) Mozambique: US$1238,000; 19) Philippines: US$1206,000; 20) Latvia: US$1173,000

Pineapples

Pineapple was found in the New World by Columbus and other explorers. The pineapple plant has long cactus-like and aloe-like leaves. A single pineapple grows from the top center of the plant. The pineapple is not a single fruit but a cluster of fruits as is the case with blackberries and raspberries. Each eye is the horny outer rind is the product of one blossom.

Cultivated pineapple are grown from cuttings not seeds. They can grow in places with relatively little water in fair soil but require the use of lots of fertilizer, insecticides and are often sprayed with hormone preparations. The plant matures after 14 to 22 months and bears three crops before the whole process begins again with new cuttings.

Pineapple is important crop in Hawaii, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and other tropical places. They grow well in hilly areas. Pineapples are widely grown in South and Southeast Asia. I saw some grown on some very steep slopes in northeast India and Bangladesh. The peak ripening time coincides with summer when the hours of sunshine are longer. People in southern Vietnam usually call this tropical fruit trai thom (fragrant fruit), based in part on the belief the sweet smell of the pineapples lingers longer than that of some other fruits, and is thus hard to forget.

Pineapples are processed into different products such as canned pineapple, pineapple liquor, sweet preserved pineapple liquor, and sweet preserved pineapple. There is also a special juicy drink that exists only in pineapple growing areas. Growers press the fruit into a juice which is then mixed with the yoke of a hen's egg before being thoroughly stirred together to become a muddy drink. The drink is said to be very sweet, creamy, and nutritious.

World’s Top Pineapple Producing Countries

World’s Top Producers of Pineapples (2020): 1) Philippines: 2702554 tonnes; 2) Costa Rica: 2624118 tonnes; 3) Brazil: 2455689 tonnes; 4) Indonesia: 2447243 tonnes; 5) China: 2220261 tonnes; 6) India: 1799000 tonnes; 7) Thailand: 1532505 tonnes; 8) Nigeria: 1508201 tonnes; 9) Mexico: 1208247 tonnes; 10) Colombia: 882633 tonnes; 11) Vietnam: 704167 tonnes; 12) Ghana: 668946 tonnes; 13) Angola: 594573 tonnes; 14) Peru: 583029 tonnes; 15) Dominican Republic: 502434 tonnes; 16) Venezuela: 482523 tonnes; 17) Benin: 440179 tonnes; 18) Taiwan: 419028 tonnes; 19) Tanzania: 368811 tonnes; 20) Guatemala: 360964 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]

World’s Top Producers (in terms of value) of Pineapples (2019): 1) Costa Rica: Int.$1345594,000 ; 2) Philippines: Int.$1110994,000 ; 3) Brazil: Int.$981076,000 ; 4) Indonesia: Int.$888056,000 ; 5) China: Int.$698494,000 ; 6) India: Int.$691780,000 ; 7) Thailand: Int.$679112,000 ; 8) Nigeria: Int.$675785,000 ; 9) Mexico: Int.$420955,000 ; 10) Colombia: Int.$407825,000 ; 11) Angola: Int.$351856,000 ; 12) Ghana: Int.$300444,000 ; 13) Vietnam: Int.$286205,000 ; 14) Peru: Int.$230016,000 ; 15) Venezuela: Int.$196482,000 ; 16) Dominican Republic: Int.$186398,000 ; 17) Tanzania: Int.$183561,000 ; 18) Taiwan: Int.$174293,000 ; 19) Guatemala: Int.$144970,000 ; [An international dollar (Int.$) buys a comparable amount of goods in the cited country that a U.S. dollar would buy in the United States.]

World’s Top Pineapple Exporting Countries

World’s Top Exporters of Pineapples (2020): 1) Costa Rica: 2047287 tonnes; 2) Philippines: 419010 tonnes; 3) Netherlands: 207983 tonnes; 4) United States: 96906 tonnes; 5) Belgium: 87957 tonnes; 6) Ecuador: 84267 tonnes; 7) Honduras: 79244 tonnes; 8) Guatemala: 67331 tonnes; 9) Taiwan: 45623 tonnes; 10) Mexico: 41517 tonnes; 11) Côte d'Ivoire: 25847 tonnes; 12) Spain: 23888 tonnes; 13) Kenya: 22371 tonnes; 14) Portugal: 21767 tonnes; 15) Ghana: 17698 tonnes; 16) United Kingdom: 16942 tonnes; 17) Italy: 16922 tonnes; 18) United Arab Emirates: 16044 tonnes; 19) Malaysia: 15961 tonnes; 20) Panama: 15799 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]

World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Pineapples (2020): 1) Costa Rica: US$922741,000; 2) Philippines: US$307747,000; 3) Netherlands: US$200097,000; 4) United States: US$84451,000; 5) Belgium: US$78503,000; 6) Taiwan: US$55936,000; 7) Honduras: US$43929,000; 8) Ecuador: US$41339,000; 9) Guatemala: US$40370,000; 10) Spain: US$26064,000; 11) Mexico: US$24796,000; 12) Ghana: US$22158,000; 13) Côte d'Ivoire: US$18575,000; 14) Portugal: US$18338,000; 15) United Kingdom: US$17059,000; 16) Germany: US$17039,000; 17) Italy: US$15371,000; 18) Kenya: US$14898,000; 19) United Arab Emirates: US$14790,000; 20) Panama: US$7547,000

World’s Top Exporters of Canned Pineapples (2020): 1) Thailand: 290123 tonnes; 2) Philippines: 227809 tonnes; 3) Indonesia: 185707 tonnes; 4) Kenya: 48119 tonnes; 5) Netherlands: 23131 tonnes; 6) Vietnam: 21668 tonnes; 7) Germany: 14111 tonnes; 8) Malaysia: 8709 tonnes; 9) Singapore: 8645 tonnes; 10) China: 7447 tonnes; 11) United Arab Emirates: 7134 tonnes; 12) Spain: 4189 tonnes; 13) Eswatini: 3855 tonnes; 14) United States: 2256 tonnes; 15) France: 2173 tonnes; 16) Guatemala: 2121 tonnes; 17) Austria: 1749 tonnes; 18) Portugal: 1514 tonnes; 19) Belgium: 1478 tonnes; 20) Poland: 1295 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]

World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Canned Pineapples (2020): 1) Thailand: US$348470,000; 2) Philippines: US$235246,000; 3) Indonesia: US$232319,000; 4) Kenya: US$72894,000; 5) Netherlands: US$48312,000; 6) Vietnam: US$29310,000; 7) Germany: US$21717,000; 8) China: US$9122,000; 9) Eswatini: US$8475,000; 10) Singapore: US$7505,000; 11) Malaysia: US$7424,000; 12) Spain: US$6941,000; 13) United Arab Emirates: US$6410,000; 14) France: US$4970,000; 15) Portugal: US$3159,000; 16) United States: US$2973,000; 17) Austria: US$2866,000; 18) Poland: US$2494,000; 19) Guatemala: US$2402,000; 20) United Kingdom: US$2387,000

World’s Top Pineapple Juice Exporting Countries

World’s Top Exporters of Pineapple Juice (2020): 1) Costa Rica: 145572 tonnes; 2) Netherlands: 65263 tonnes; 3) Belgium: 14812 tonnes; 4) Spain: 14591 tonnes; 5) Germany: 12168 tonnes; 6) Cyprus: 9996 tonnes; 7) Ireland: 6053 tonnes; 8) Benin: 5861 tonnes; 9) Guatemala: 4717 tonnes; 10) Austria: 3713 tonnes; 11) France: 3005 tonnes; 12) Saudi Arabia: 2996 tonnes; 13) Thailand: 2699 tonnes; 14) United Arab Emirates: 2588 tonnes; 15) El Salvador: 1936 tonnes; 16) Honduras: 1823 tonnes; 17) Vietnam: 1789 tonnes; 18) Togo: 1712 tonnes; 19) Cote d’Ivoire: 1611 tonnes; 20) Mexico: 1514 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]

World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Pineapple Juice (2020): 1) Costa Rica: US$70079,000; 2) Netherlands: US$45429,000; 3) Spain: US$13314,000; 4) Belgium: US$11948,000; 5) Germany: US$11685,000; 6) Cyprus: US$5104,000; 7) Austria: US$4595,000; 8) France: US$4362,000; 9) Ireland: US$3916,000; 10) Benin: US$3314,000; 11) Guatemala: US$2418,000; 12) United Arab Emirates: US$2395,000; 13) Honduras: US$1776,000; 14) Mexico: US$1728,000; 15) Togo: US$1654,000; 16) Thailand: US$1506,000; 17) United Kingdom: US$1445,000; 18) Côte d'Ivoire: US$1380,000; 19) Vietnam: US$1337,000; 20) Saudi Arabia: US$1249,000

World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Pineapple Juice, Concentrated (2020): 1) Philippines: US$119449,000; 2) Netherlands: US$90596,000; 3) Thailand: US$63641,000; 4) Costa Rica: US$46965,000; 5) Indonesia: US$37937,000; 6) South Africa: US$16540,000; 7) Kenya: US$15787,000; 8) Brazil: US$12008,000; 9) Italy: US$5033,000; 10) Lebanon: US$4780,000; 11) United States: US$3987,000; 12) Spain: US$3381,000; 13) Germany: US$3010,000; 14) Guatemala: US$2686,000; 15) Israel: US$2457,000; 16) United Kingdom: US$2054,000; 17) China: US$2034,000; 18) Egypt: US$1744,000; 19) France: US$1397,000; 20) Eswatini: US$1387,000

Breadfruit

Breadfruit is a large, globular, green, pimpled fruit that grows on 40-to 60-foot-high trees in tropical regions. It is one of the main sources of food for people in the islands of the north and south Pacific. Different species of breadfruit bear fruit at different times of the year, providing an almost constant supply of food.

There are 40 species of breadfruit. They require hot temperatures, a lot of rain and good drainage. The trees have large green leaves and often don't have any limbs for a considerable distance from their base. The fruit of often larger than American footballs, reaching lengths of up to a foot widths up to six inches. As it ripens it turns from green to brown and finally, when ripe, to yellow.

Breadfruit is high in carbohydrates, thiamin, niacin and vitamin C. In tropical regions where grain doesn't grow it is an important source of starch and carbohydrates. It is prepared a number of ways: roasted on in hot coals, sliced and dried in the sun, made into a drink, made into flour, made into porridge. It is usually baked or mashed and served like mashed potatoes. Sometimes, it buried in the ground to ferment before its baked.

Breadfruit trees also provide cloth from the inner bark, wood for canoes, homes and furniture,. The sticky, milky sap is used in making glue.

Toddies

Toddies and hot toddies are rich and refreshing drinks made with sweet sap tapped straight from the stems and flowers of a mature toddy palms. The sap can be drunk fresh or it can be boiled down to form a kind of brown sugar called jaggery, a key ingredient in many Southeast and South Asian sweets. The "hot toddy" originally came from Burma.

Toddy liquid left to ferment for a several hours becomes toddy wine, which sells for about 25 cents a bottle and according to some tastes like Milk of Magnesia. It takes two bottles to get a decent buzz. These have to be consumed more or less right after they are purchased, after several hours toddy wine turns to sour toddy mush.

Palm wine, which in turn can be distilled into a potent spirit widely consumed in West Africa, Sri Lanka, India and Southeast Asia. Come from tree as toddy.

Toddy trees are prevented from bearing fruit by binding the open flowers and bending them over. The sap is extracted initially after three weeks and collected very month or so. A good toddy tree can yield 270 liters of sap a year.

Toddy Tappers

Toddy sap is collected once every three weeks or so by agile toddy tappers who climb the trees to collect the sap and sometimes move from tree to tree on lines like tight walkers, using a pair of ropes — one to walk on and the other to hold with their hands for balance.

To begin the tapping process a toddy tapper climbs a tree and beats the round fruit on the tree with a stick and later takes in stems and flowers of the tree to withdraw the sap. After that toddy tappers go from flower to flower every morning and evening with little pots.

Typically toddy tappers climb their trees with pot in the evening, tapping the tree overnight, and collect the pot the next day in a process not unlike collecting maple syrup, earning about $3.00 a day from collecting the tap from 16 trees. A good tapper can get a month's worth of sap from one flower. After the sap is collected it is boiled until it thickens and crystallizes into golf-ball-size lumps. Yeast is added to make inexpensive wine that is ready in a few hours to drink.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Natural History magazine, Discover magazine, Times of London, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated July 2026