Hawaii coming up short on pumpkins for Halloween

HONOLULU -- Just in time for Halloween -- a pumpkin shortage.

Recent rainy weather wiped out a third of Hawaii's pumpkin crop, and emergency orders from the mainland are virtually impossible because of a shipping backlog on the West Coast.

"Don't tell my family, but we're not going to have a pumpkin this year," said Chris Swoish, president of local produce wholesaler James D. Swoish Inc.

Hawaii's only commercial pumpkin grower, Aloun Farms in Ewa, lost about 30,000 pumpkins last week after four inches of rain fell on the fields. By the time the ripe orange gourds were picked, many were rotten.

"We couldn't go into the fields for five days, and because the pumpkins are ready, it rots," said Wayne Kaiura, Aloun's warehouse and sales manager.

About 60,000 good pumpkins have been delivered to supermarkets, and Friday's pumpkin delivery was likely to be the last, said Kaiura said, who figures stores will run out next week, about the time families will want to carve out a jack-o-lantern to greet trick-or-treaters.

"Right now we're trying to help out supermarkets and give everybody just little bit each," Kaiura said.

Derek Kurisu of KTA Super Stores on the Big Island said his stores will probably run out of pumpkins.

"I was depending quite a bit on Aloun Farms," he said.

Foodland stores will be short of pumpkins until an emergency delivery from the mainland arrives Monday or Tuesday, said spokeswoman Sheryl Toda.

Armstrong Produce in the past has ordered five shipping containers full of pumpkins from the mainland, said Vice President Kelvin Shigemura. But this year the company committed to buying local pumpkins because of Aloun's success growing them last year, he said.

"We weren't worried (about shipping delays), but Mother Nature took its toll," he said.

Kahala Mall had to cancel its annual free pumpkin promotion Saturday because it couldn't get enough pumpkins.

"To get more between now and Oct. 31 just wasn't going to work out," said mall spokeswoman Regina Srajer.

"What can you do?" asked Swoish. "All our (pumpkins) are in the local basket."