VAMPIRES IN THE CASTLE

The state's largest pineapple producer, Maui Land & Pineapple Co., also has been selling pieces of "noncore" land in recent years. Maui Land & Pine, which owns more than 25,000 acres on Maui and grows pineapple on roughly 4,000 acres, sold nearly 3,000 acres of mostly agricultural land in the past two years. Dole disclosed its potential land sale effort in a quarterly financial report, saying the company is "considering a plan to market certain land parcels" in places including Hawai'i and Latin America. The company has been in the process of selling assets that don't meet its future strategic direction or profit goals. This year, Dole sold several Chilean farms, and in recent months classified 4,400 acres in California as assets held for sale. Earlier this year, other farmland for fruit and flower operations in California and Latin America were classified as assets held for sale. Total assets held for sale were valued at $53 million, according to the report detailing three months of business ended Oct. 6. Dole, which reported $6.2 billion in revenue last year, is the world's largest producer and marketer of fresh fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, and also markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods. The company is owned by billionaire David Murdock, who in 2003 bought out other holders of Dole's publicly traded stock in a $2.5 billion deal that took the firm private.