Updated at 4:12 p.m., Thursday, March 1, 2007
Hawai'i loses 73% of guava output with farm's closure
Advertiser Staff
A 450-acre Kaua'i guava farm that shut down in December represented 73 percent of Hawai'i's guava production, according to a government report.Kilauea Agronomics, which was the state's biggest guava farm, closed citing competition from foreign imports. In 2005 Hawai'i was the nation's largest guava producer, with 620 acres in production.
"Anytime this island loses a crop in which it was number one in, it's a significant loss," said Bill Spitz, an economic development specialist with the Kaua'i County economic development office.
The loss may could result in an increase in guava imports. Hawai'i's guava industry peaked in 1989, when guava acreage totaled 1,180 acres, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
