Vegetable processing is not a new business idea, but it is relevant. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in interest in fresh vegetables and fruits in the country. But, unfortunately, their shelf life is short. Under the influence of microbes and harmful bacteria, products quickly deteriorate, therefore, along with the storage and sale of vegetables in the SPPK "ArzgirOvoshch" in the Stavropol Territory, they took up another project. Today the farm determines which type of processing to prefer.
“You need to understand exactly what the population is in demand for: drying, vacuuming, freezing or canning. For example, large retail chains sell boiled peeled vacuumized vegetables. We could do this, but we must first find a way out to these networks. In any case, you need to choose one thing and start implementing the project by autumn, ”said Rita Pak, chairman of the cooperative from the Arzgir district.
The agricultural consumer processing cooperative "ArzgirOvoshch" in 2019 began its activities with the storage and sale of vegetables. Today the farm sells the leftovers of last year's harvest - about 400 tons remain.
In 2020, "ArzgirOvoshch" received a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Stavropol Territory and partially used the funds to purchase equipment for storing and preparing products for sale. The plans for this year are the creation of a processing shop. By 2025, the cooperative plans to reach a maximum sales volume of up to 5760 tons of vegetables per year.
“The farm has received a grant in the amount of 25,3 million rubles for the development of the material and technical base for the processing and packaging of vegetables. The total cost of the project, taking into account its own co-financing, amounted to 42,2 million rubles. Thanks to the grant, the cooperative acquired equipment for storage and preparation for sale of products for a total of 12,9 million rubles, and 3 jobs were created, ”explained Viktor Fetisov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Stavropol Territory.
The cooperative does not plan to stop at the processing shop - last year SPPK "ArzgirOvoshch" bought the territory of the former collective farm brigade, partially repaired the buildings of the hostels. On a 9 hectare site, members of the cooperative plan to place greenhouses in order to receive vegetables for the processing workshop year-round. There are also plans to lay a small garden. The cost of implementing the project in the cooperative is estimated at approximately 100-150 million rubles, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and with the involvement of concessional loans, the price for the organization is lifting.
“Creating a closed production cycle and avoiding the sale of raw materials in favor of processing our own products is exactly the direction in which we need to move. The emergence of processing shops makes it possible to use agricultural products more fully, reduce losses, increase revenues and increase the level of profitability of production in general, "said Vyacheslav Dryiger, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Stavropol Territory.
State support for the development of cooperation in the region has been carried out since 2015. It provides for two directions: a grant for the development of a material and technical base for processing and marketing agricultural consumer cooperatives and a subsidy to reimburse part of the costs of consumer cooperatives. The total amount of funding for 2015-2020 amounted to 398 million rubles; during this period, 18 SPPKs, engaged in the processing of milk, meat and fish, as well as the processing and packaging of honey and vegetables, took advantage of the state support.