The correct answer is B) sugar.
America had a two-fold imperialistic interest in Hawaii, one was using it as a base for Asian interests and the other was to develop this industry of sugar.
The United States was interested in the Hawaii islands because it was a strategic place to establish a military base in the Pacific, as it was the case of the naval base in Pearl Harbor. But the US also was interested in developing the industry of sugar. In the mid-1800s, many immigrants arrived in Hawaii to work in the sugar plantation fields because sugar represented a big business. Growing pineapple was the second most important crop in Hawaii.