Winter eats what summer gets: how to preserve high quality berries and to offer the produce at the moment of highest demand

Read in the interview by Agri-gator with the Director of Insolar-Kholod, TOV Anatoliy Bogdan, regarding the situation at the local market of berries and the best ways how to storage berries.

Produce of berries is the most dynamically growing segment of the global fruit market today. One of the most expensive and perspective berries in Ukraine is blueberry: by various estimates, commercial production now reaches the rates of 2000 hectare. Estimating further opportunities, both for the internal market and blueberries export for the next season, the experts specify increase in sales. Qualitative berries storage remains the problem of the market: even in September there is almost no Ukrainian produce at the local market, without mentioning export. Thereby, for example, Poland exports blueberries till and inclusive November-December, preserving fresh berries because of storages. In the words of Anatoliy Bogdan, Director of Insolar-Kholod, OOO, engaged in refrigeration equipment design, delivery and installation, it is exactly a modern storage that will allow to keep fresh berries and further to offer the produce at the moment of highest demand with the most profitable price for the producer. About the situation at the local market and the best ways how to storage berries please read in the interview from Agrigator

Which technological decisions for preserving fresh berries are used at Ukrainian enterprises today?
Anatoliy Bogdan: For the moment basements and Soviet-type storages have fallen into oblivion, given way to professional modern storages. A lot of enterprises, orientated towards export of high quality fruits and berries, started to build CA storages. In addition to that, berries market is developing very fast. As I predict, production of berries will be increased in Ukraine: supply will be growing up and will start to prevail over consumption. As the result, producers will need to prolong a period of realization. As for keeping berries, storages equipped with the Palliflex system acquired a very good reputation.

What is the principle difference between an ordinary storage and a CA storage, equipped with the Palliflex system?
Anatoliy Bogdan: Berries demand sensitive treatment from the moment of picking up till arrival on realization, and it is not allowed that the berries are overloaded and overpacked from one package to another. Palliflex system by the Dutch company Van Amerongen is more suitable for berries, realized by pallets. Storage on pallets means that you always will be able to sell some products from stock, not breaking storage conditions for other types of products. The Palliflex storage system, besides the CA equipment, consists of a special plastic pallet, on which can be stacked boxes or packages with the produce and a cover (gastight transparent polyethylene cover) with inlet tubes for measuring and supply О2 and СО2. This technology measures the gas content under the cover several times a day and adjust СО2, N2 or O2 content correspondently if necessary. Dispatch from the cold rooms can be realized with the cover, which allows to keep berries under the preset CA with the lower O2 when delivering them to the trade companies. Thereby, the triple profit can be reached: loss of products can be minimized, emerges a possibility to adapt oneself to the market demands in the best way and to raise incomes.

How reasonable is building of storages equipped with this system in Ukraine?
Anatoliy Bogdan: Storage of fresh produce is incredibly actual now. I prefer to specify that the market of storage berries haven’t existed overhere at all and only now started to develop. Number of producers of berries will increase further, competition will become stronger, high quality of produce will be necessary condition for export. That is why it is needed to create storage facilities for successful sale of berries. For example, storage of fresh blueberries in the CA can be extended up to 7-8 weeks, using Palliflex – up to 9-10 weeks. Red currants under the same conditions can be kept up to 8 months and black currants – up to 5-6 months. Storage of sweet cherry in CA rooms can be extended up to 8-10 weeks.

You cooperate with the world-wide supplier of the CA equipment Van Amerongen more than 15 years. Which innovative changes in technologies have happened during this time?
Anatoliy Bogdan: During our mutual work this company has implemented the 3rd control system, which makes possible to fulfil produce storage technology control in a more qualitative way. It is not also necessary to come to the storages now: with the help of the remote control in the MyFruit control system we can regulate operation of the equipment from the office.
My Fruit system is an advanced control system specially designed to control all equipment of the fruit storage, both CA and refrigeration equipment.
My Fruit allows the user to connect remotelly to the CA control system from the computer or even the smartphone wherever he is.
Agri-gator.com