In June, US Africa Trade Desk visited a pineapple processing facility owned by Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), a hub that already supports hundreds of small-scale farmers and is positioned to bring many more into the value chain.
For decades, Southeast Asia has supplied roughly half of the world’s canned pineapple, but recent seasons of below-average harvests mean U.S. demand now exceeds what those origins can reliably deliver. This imbalance creates a real opening for African producers – if the right structures are in place.
In Zambia, we’re working on exactly that. Together with IDC, we’re walking the farms, reviewing the processing lines, and mapping where investment is needed—equipment upgrades, food-safety certification, logistics—to move fruit at true commercial scale. At the same time, we are aligning this capacity with U.S. buyers who are actively looking for a stable, traceable, high-quality source of canned pineapple.
Our message to partners is simple: the fruit already exists; what’s been missing is the infrastructure and market access to move it. By channeling U.S. demand through this IDC facility, we can help it expand and support several hundred additional farmers with a guaranteed offtake and better pricing.
Done right, everyone wins: U.S. buyers get a more resilient supply chain in a tight global market, and Zambian smallholders gain access to capital, long-term contracts, and a market that is ready for them now.