Noni forcing out Hawaiian pineapple

LA Times:

With Hawaii’s famous pineapple industry slumping in the face of foreign competition, specialized crops such as noni, papaya and macadamia nuts are beginning to bear fruit.

For many, pineapples symbolize America’s 50th state. Now, however, they can be grown and shipped to the United States more cheaply from Thailand, the Philippines, Brazil, China, India and Costa Rica.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. announced in February that it would end its Hawaii pineapple operations by mid-2008 and lay off about 700 employees. At one time Hawaii’s pineapple plantations had to bring in workers from Asia.