THE FIRST QUARTER CENTURY
1900-1924In the 1870s, there were no less than 73 sugar plantations operating in Hawaii. By its peak in 1933, sugar acreage occupied 254,563 acres of land statewide. Sweet industries
see sour fallMechanization and competition
took their toll on once-thriving
sugar and pineapple industriesBy Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comLikewise at the beginning of the 20th century, a pineapple industry was established in Hawaii by James Dole, who saw the potential of the crop and in 1901 formed the Hawaiian Pineapple Co.
By 1922 the company bought the island of Lanai for large-scale production, and by 1950 it was the world's largest pineapple company. From 1940 to 1960 it cornered 80 percent of the market.
But starting before World War II, mechanization began shrinking the Hawaii plantations. From 1939 to 1949, sugar employment dropped 46 percent, mostly due to mechanization.
This modernization process continued to shrink both the pineapple and sugar industries well into the 1960s and '70s, but by that time other factors also were having an impact.
Cheap labor in Third World countries was making it increasingly difficult for Hawaii sugar and pineapple companies to compete on the world market.
STAR-BULLETIN FILE
Members of a sugar plantation weeding crew labored in the fields of Maui, about 1920. Flourishing with immigrant workers, sugar acreage hit its peak in 1933.
Extensive use of artificial sweeteners for dietary reasons and the popularity of sugar-free products also left their mark on the sugar industry.
The belief that processed sugar was unhealthy eroded the market even further. Finally, in 1974, Congress allowed the Sugar Act to lapse, undermining the protected position once enjoyed by the sugar industry.
Today there are just two remaining sugar companies, Maui's Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar and Kauai's Gay & Robinson. More than 100,000 acres once occupied by sugar have been vacated.
The story is much the same for pineapple. The state now produces less than 15 percent of the world crop.
