Producers of garden strawberries, who do not have their own refrigerators for berries, are forced to sell their products immediately after harvest. Because of this and high competition, farmers often have to sell berries at low prices. The purchase of refrigeration equipment will help to increase the cost of strawberries and find new places of sale, which will allow the berries to be stored longer and transported without loss of quality. If the farm cannot invest enough money in the refrigerator, alternative options can be considered - take a loan and then receive compensation from the state budget, or look for grant programs. In the last way, the family farm of the Tertichs from the Kherson region. The farm received a grant from the Ukrainian Horticultural Business Development Project UHBDP, SEEDS reports.

Thanks to the funds received, a refrigeration room with the appropriate equipment was equipped on the farm. Now garden strawberries are kept here, which farmers grow both in the open field and in greenhouses.

”The new refrigerating chamber is located in the field and allows simultaneous cooling of up to 5 tons of products at a temperature of 8-14 C, depending on the required delivery time of products to the shelves. In August and September alone, about 25 tons of berries were chilled. With refrigeration equipment in their arsenal, Tertichnye signed contracts for the supply of fresh chilled garden strawberries to supermarkets almost until the end of this year and at a bargain price, for example, in October, garden strawberries are sold at UAH 80 / kg. This is undoubtedly a very profitable and promising sales niche, but the requirements for suppliers are always high: delivery times, quality requirements, berry integrity, the need to supply chilled products that retain their presentation on store shelves longer,” UHBDP reports.

Farmers will use the refrigerator for storing berries until the New Year. Later, the equipment will be used to store seedlings for the next year.

SEEDS