CA storages – must-have for fruit and vegetable business

In one of the recent news there is an article from the websites SEEDS.org.ua and EastFruit about the speech of Insolar-Kholod director Anatoliy Bogdan during the 16th International Conference “Fruits & Vegetables of Ukraine-2019. Export Breakthrough”.

Now all enterprises, directed towards export of high quality fresh produce, are building CA storages.

Even 10 years ago nobody has trusted in CA storages – people stored apples in basements and old vegetable storages. Nowadays the situation has changed – all companies, directed towards quality and export of produce, cannot imagine successful business without such modern places for storage of picked-up crop.

Insolar-Kholod director Anatoliy Bogdan told about this during his speech at the 16th International Conference “Fruits & Vegetables of Ukraine-2019. Export Breakthrough”, – SEEDS informs.
“When about 10-12 years ago I told about CA (Controlled Atmosphere) storages, a lot of gardeners showed me apples kept in a basement and asked: what for? They are stored quite good as it is. Some owners of intensive apple orchards also said “what for” – the whole crop is usually bought during ovary.

Now we can see that all enterprises, directed towards export of high quality fresh produce, are building CA storages, – specifies Anatoliy Bogdan.

“When pick-up season comes, there are a huge number of offers, a price falls, and it is important to have a special CA storage in order to keep the price and the produce.

But not all kind of products can be stored. We know perfectly well that it is impossible to store raspberries and (wild) strawberries for a long time. Yes, there are some verities of strawberries which can be kept within 20 days. But it is a very low percentage.

The most difficult berry for storage is grape. It must be treated with sulfur dioxide before starting storage in order to protect from grey mould. Usually this berry is kept well within 3-4 months. After treatment the storage period can be increased up to 6 months, – explained Insolar-Kholod director.

For a long-term storage of berries it is even better not a CA storage, but storages equipped with the PALLIFLEX system, – asserts Anatoliy Bogdan.

As compared to ordinary fruit and vegetable storages, here berries are kept in pallets, covered with special polyethylene covers with input tubes for measurement and supply of O2 and CO2.
Palliflex system makes possible to store different berries and fruit in the same room, which need the same storage temperature, but different content of gas. Palliflex system is better for produce which is sold by pallets.

In such a storage can be placed several kinds of products at the same time, but this storage system costs a little bit more than the CA”, – told Anatoliy Bogdan.

SEEDS.org.ua