Like previous years, as a goodwill gesture, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Sunday sent 500 kg pineapples as a gift to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through the Agartala-Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP), officials said.

Tripura Horticulture Department Assistant Director Dipak Baidya said that as a part of the goodwill gesture, Tripura Chief Minister sent the 500 kg state’s most delicious queen variety pineapples to Bangladesh Prime Minister.

He said that the 500 kg pineapple with each pineapple weighing around 750 grams, contained in 100 small containers 

“The queen variety pineapples are the best pineapple variety in the world. It earlier got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag,” Baidya told the media at Agartala-Akhura ICP, adjoining the capital city Agartala.

He asserted that the traditional bond between the two countries specially with Tripura has been always been excellent and deep-rooted.

“Sending pineapple by our Chief Minister to Bangladesh Prime Minister is just a token gift as part of our friendship,” the official said.

Previously, most of the Tripura Chief Ministers had sent pineapples to the Bangladesh Prime Minister, who in reciprocate gifted delicious mangoes of that country.

Tripura occasionally exported most delicious pineapples to Dubai, Qatar, Bangladesh facilitating crores of trade of the state’s farmers.

Officials said that besides pineapples, Tripura also exported various other fruits including lemon and horticultural products to the UK, Germany and many other countries.

Tripura annually produces 1.28 lakh tonnes of two major varieties -- Kew and Queen -- of pineapples in 8,800 hectares of mountainous orchards across the state and for many years, exporting the pineapples and lemons to many countries and many Indian states as well.

Former President Ram Nath Kovind, at a function in Agartala in 2018, announced the “Queen” variety of pineapple as Tripura’s state fruit.

Besides pineapples, Tripura also exported a large quantity of jackfruit, tamarind, stone apple, betel leaf, and ginger to the UK, Germany, Dubai, Bangladesh and other countries as well as various Indian states.