Plucky little orchards grow tropical exotics

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Brian Paxton and Griffith Frost hold a platter of lychee and rambutan at Manelo Orchards. Rambutans may be more commercially viable than lychees. Carl E. Koonce III • Special to The Advertiser

More than 100 types of strange and wonderful fruit can be grown here, says Ken Love, a grower in Captain Cook and president of the West Hawai'i Chapter of the Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers group.

In Hamakua on the Big Island, Waialua and Mokule'ia on O'ahu, from Hana to Kula on Maui, and on Moloka'i and Kaua'i, former cane and pineapple lands, and even former coffee and macadamia fields, are being planted in crops from the familiar lychee to the bizarre dragonfruit.

"Tropical fruit orchards have tremendous potential, perhaps not in commodity-size numbers but in lifestyle, which I think is equally important," says orchard developer Griffith Frost of Hilo. "It's able to generate a quality of life for the grower's family, it helps keep Hawai'i green, it marries well with tourism, and there's a market out there yet to be tapped."

The state Agricultural Statistics Service counted 145 specialty tropical fruit farms in the Islands in 2001, the last year for which figures are available, a total of more than 1,000 acres in production. More than half of these — 85 farms — are on the Big Island. Production figures for 2002 aren't in yet, but statistician Don Martin says there's "an upward trend."

Frost said that about 250,000 pounds of rambutan will come out of Hawai'i this year; that figure is expected to rise to 1 million pounds by 2006.

But this is still just a miniscule industry: The established fruits — pineapple, papaya, banana, avocado and guava, in that order — account for more than 25,000 acres and 8 million pounds.

In Hamakua and elsewhere, small orchard estates are proliferating, operated by people like Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers state president Richard Johnson, who wrapped up a career with Intel and three years ago purchased Onomea Orchards in Pepe'ekeo. A love of gardening, an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to live in a place that fueled their souls were among the reasons that Johnson and his wife, Jenny, made the change. He said there are perhaps three growers with large farms in the organization; the rest, like him, own or lease plots in the 5- to 20-acre range.

Frost's Hilo hui, Hawaiian Rainbows, is developing turnkey orchard estates in the Village at Pepe'ekeo Point: 20-acre lots, planted with young trees, with infrastructure and a cleared house site. Pioneer orchardist Brian Paxton, who recently sold his Manelo Orchards farm north of Hilo to Hawaiian Rainbows to serve as a model, has created a blueprint for orchard management that allows someone to operate a beautifully landscaped 20-acre orchard of rambutan, longan and mangosteen with just the equivalent of 12 days' work a month.

Growth in the tropical fruit industry here coincides with increased acceptance of exotic foods, fueled by celebrity chefs and an immigrant influx. "It seems like people know more about tropical fruit than ever before," says Hilo farmer and produce broker Minh Voss.

Even locals are more willing to buy fruit; increasing urbanization means we are less likely to have a backyard tree to rely on. At the Hilo Farmer's Market one Wednesday, Kekoa Casper, 24, stocked up on lychee. "My mom can't get used to buying lychee or mango, like that. But I live in town, I have a job and kids and I don't have time to garden, so I'm happy it's here," she said.

Eric Weinert of Hawaii Pride LLC, the irradiation plant in Kea'au that prepares tropical fruit for export to the Mainland, said the industry's first selling efforts were focused on Mainland Asian-American communities, where longans are as familiar as oranges. Efforts now are shifting to high-end outlets, such as specialty grocery stores in large urban centers, whose well-heeled customers have more educated and adventurous tastes. Frost is working on a project to ship whole, frozen fruit to Japan in jewelbox-like containers, an item already popular there.

"We're never going to be a high-volume producer," said Weinert, but he and others in the industry believe that an emphasis on high-quality fruit, attractive packaging and targeted selling will pay off. He notes that Hawaiian papaya is a tiny fraction of the total U.S. market, but draws top prices.

The very word Hawai'i carries a cachet. "Hawai'i is a brand that is recognized worldwide," said Steve Shropshire of Aloha Green, a tropical plant businessman who has turned his attention to developing fruit orchards on the Big Island.

But for every reason that tropical fruit farming should succeed here, there's a complication.

Fruit flourishes here, but so do predators, from fruit flies to rapacious birds, wild boars to buffeting winds. A great deal of research is going into methods of protecting fruit, guaranteeing supply. For example, Johnson said, researchers recently discovered a chemical trigger that will cause longan trees to flower, meaning farmers can produce this fruit year-round, in contrast to lychee. This is one reason why longan is often cited as the fruit of Hawai'i's future.

Another complicating factor: Hawai'i is not one climate but a half-dozen microclimates; even a few hundred feet elevation or a mile or two in one direction or another can mean the difference between a bumper crop and trees that do not flourish. Many farmers have learned this the hard way, Love said.

People love tropical fruit, but most have a limit to how much they'll pay for it. With the cost of land, labor and transport here, it's impossible to compete with Asian markets, such as Thailand and China, which routinely sell some fruit for half of what Hawai'i farmers must ask.

Voss offers the example of fresh ginger: Ginger from China and Thailand is selling for $8 a 30-pound box wholesale. But just to break even, she has to sell her own ginger at a minimum of $24 per box. No one argues that it's superior ginger — fresh, fragrant, tender and less stringy. But few will pay the price said Voss, a Vietnamese immigrant whose Hilo business, Crown Pacific International LLC, sells papaya, noni, culinary herbs, tropical fruit and ginger to Mainland markets. This is another reason for Hawai'i farmers to band together, to think and plant strategically and to develop a coordinated marketing plan.

Tropical fruit farming partners naturally with the visitor industry in the form of trendy agro-tourism (farmhouse bed-and-breakfast operations, farm tours, roadside stands, farm-restaurant partnerships), but as yet this is happening on a very small scale. The potential is there, though. The Rainbows development will include a visitor attraction on the site of the old Pepe'ekeo mill with a place where farmers and crafters can sell, perhaps even a lodge, Frost said.

Farming is risky and fruit farming is no exception; it remains to be seen how many people can make a living at this, and how good a living. Shropshire said a mature 20-acre tropical fruit farm could produce a six-figure income if prices are stable. But that's a big if, given the competition from Asia.

Ironically, Hawai'i exotic fruit is almost as difficult to find in Island markets as in Mainland ones. This is because supermarket chains generally require consistent supply and large volume before they'll do business with a supplier, and the industry isn't there yet. So, for now, most of us will experience our first longan or locally grown jackfruit only by visiting Chinatown or a farmer's market.

Durian Durio zibethinus Spiky, green, pineapple-size fruit. Foul odor but sweet, cream or peachy flesh with a taste like spicy ice cream. Eaten fresh (especially chilled) or as a relish (with salt, onion, vinegar). Find it at farmer's markets and in Chinatown (October to March).		Jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus Immense, watermelon-size fruit covered with spikes. Sweet, moist mango-like orange flesh in segments; seeds are edible (often roasted). Dries well. Find it at farmer's markets and Chinatown (May through February); also sold in jars.
Lychee Litchi chinensis Scaly red skin; fine-textured, white perfumed flesh. New Kaimana variety is larger, moister, sweeter. Eat fresh, or make sorbet. Also excellent frozen or dried. Find it at supermarkets, farmer's markets, Chinatown (June through September).		Abiu Pouteria caimito Also known as caimito, or yellow star apple. Yellow-to-green egg-shaped fruit yields white meat redolent of vanilla. Peel carefully to avoid sticky latex in skin. Occasionally found at farmer's markets. (August to January).
Rambutan Nephelium lappaceum Bizarre-looking sunset-colored fruit covered with spiky "hair"; flesh is creamy white with a floral aroma. Eat fresh; squeeze gently until flesh splits, then tear open. Supermarkets, farmer's markets, Chinatown (June through September).		Starfruit Averrhoa carambola Also known as carambola. Four-point star shape, green-to-golden color, tangy translucent flesh. Excellent fresh; also in tarts, curries, stewed with sugar and cloves; may be dried. Find it in supermarkets, farmer's markets, Chinatown (September through April).
Jaboticaba Myrciaria cauliflora Also known as Brazil grape. Shiny purple-black, cherry-like fruit grows directly from bark on tree limbs. Eaten fresh, made into wine, jelly, marmalade, syrup, salad dressings. (January through June, also September)		Longan Dimocarpus longan Lour Euphoria longana Steud Also known as dragon's eye. One to watch. Similar to rambutan or lychee with white to pink flesh, easily removed seed, but milder and less acidic with slightly crunchier texture; some prefer it. Prized in China and eaten fresh or dried. A prolific year-round producer.
Mangosteen Garcinia mangostana Highly praised table fruit. Round, purple-skinned with 5-8 symmetrical segments of delicious white flesh. Cut rind around circumference, lift top off, bottom forms serving "bowl." Found at resort restaurants, farmer's markets. (September to December)		Bilimbi Averrhoa bilimbi Also known as cucumber fruit, kamias. Elongated starfruit cousin resembles overlarge cucumber with thin, shiny skin. Flesh lends pleasing sour balance to relishes, stews, curries. Popular in Philippines. Sometimes found in farmer’s markets, Chinatown. (May-December)
Most of these Hawai'i-grown fruits, some relatively unknown, are available at this time of year. Fruit photos by Ken Love