HONOLULU (KHON2) — A groundbreaking partnership between Amazon and Maui Gold could change the game for Hawaii agriculture.
On Wednesday, July 16, Amazon announced that Maui Gold pineapples will fly with Amazon Air Cargo.
State Senator Glenn Wakai helped broker the deal between the two, leading to the launch of a direct air cargo route from Hawaii to California.
“This Amazon deal has two huge benefits for the state. The first is timeliness. In the past, if you were to get a pineapple to get somehow to the East Coast, to a wholesaler there, it would take almost two days, almost 48 hours to get there. With Amazon, it’s 12 hours,” Wakai said.
This partnership is a prime example of how Amazon Air Cargo connects producers and markets to support regional agriculture and maintain freshness standards.
“And the other huge benefit is the cost savings. I’m told there’s a 60% savings on cargo rates. So those were the two biggest impediments to getting Hawai’i products to the mainland. Amazon has taken away those two impediments,” he added.
More than 5,000 Mayu Gold pineapples have already been sent and more are heading out on a weekly basis.
The fruits are flown straight to California before being distributed to various cities across the country to ensure peak freshness.
CEO of Maui Gold’s parent company, John White, said it’s a massive boost, calling it a “phenomenal opportunity” to open wholesale channels on the mainland, as opposed to putting things on the water.
And it isn’t just about pineapples. Senator Wakai believes other Hawaii products and companies could jump on board with similar arrangements, calling it a potential economic game changer.
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“The ability to get access to markets quickly and cheaply is a game changer. So, they could probably work, or they can, whoever they might be, interested after seeing your story tonight. Might want to call the Department of Agriculture and say, ‘I want to be next up for, benefiting from this Amazon partnership,’” Wakai added.