This year’s record crop of plums in the Brčko area brought an unexpected challenge to buyers. Due to much larger quantities than planned, the capacities of the cold storage facilities were filled in just a few days, so part of the crop will be directed to industrial processing, according to buyers.
In Šatorovići near Brčko, the purchase station is currently accepting the variety “Čačanska ljepotica” at a price of 0.90 KM per kilogram. The purchase is organized by one of the largest companies from the District, which exports fresh plums to the German market after sorting and packaging.
Graduated economist Merih Ribić from the buying station in Šatorovići says that this year’s crop is one of the best in the last few years.
– The race is unprecedented, I can safely say record breaking. There are more plums than we can cool, which is why part of the crop will end up in industrial processing, Ribić said.
According to him, after purchase, the plum is transported to the plants in Maoča, where it is sorted, repackaged in one and one and a half kilogram containers and exported to retail chains in Germany, including Lidl, Edeka and Penny.
Ribić points out that harvesting is mostly organized within family farms, while additional labor is hired from Srebrenik, Brčko and surrounding towns.
– Workers are paid by performance. They get about two marks for a six-kilogram crate, and on average they harvest about 300 kilograms a day, or about fifty crates, which means they can earn about 100 convertible marks a day, with paid transportation and refreshments, said Ribić.
Inflow of goods significantly higher than capacity
Ibrahim Tursunović, the deputy director of the company from Moača, which organizes the purchase of plums and carries out processing and distribution, says that the interest of producers in handing over plums this year is significantly greater than the possibility of purchase.
– In just seven days, we filled all our own cooling capacities. We export between 60 and 80 tons per day, but we receive up to 200 tons of plums for purchase, which is why we are not able to accept all quantities, said Tursunović.
He added that the excess fruits will be directed to industrial processing, while the price for industrial plums will be formed later, depending on market trends.
According to him, the German market still shows great demand for Bosnian plums, and the company meets all European quality standards required for export.
– We place the largest part of production on the German market. European customers can accept large quantities, but this year the influx of goods is significantly greater than our logistics and storage capacities, Tursunović pointed out.
The harvest and purchase of “Čačanska ljepotica” is in progress, while an extremely good yield is expected from the later varieties, which could further increase the pressure on purchasing capacities, it says. Liberation.
