Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – February 12, 2021 – Agriculture
In the Vinnytsia region, in the town of Lypovets, the first plant in Ukraine for the complex processing of garlic started operating in a test mode.
“We have prepared our plant for launch, now we are working in test mode. We take garlic from a kitchen garden, from a garden, and from the field, we clear it of dirt and any impurity, we calibrate and crush heads. Then clean the scales, then all this is washed, disinfected with ozone without the addition of chemicals. The cleaned teeth are dried and evacuated and sent for cooling. This is a raw material ready for use in any form. We process some products into paste and puree. There is added salt or other components that are needed by the producer, for example, meat and sausage or bakery products, as well as producers of sauces, ketchup, etc., – said the deputy head of the farm “AGRO-MASTER”, project manager Vasyl Hudzovsky.
According to him, the planned capacity of the plant is the processing of 2,000 tons of garlic per year. When the company reaches the projected production volumes will depend on how many domestic processors will be interested in Ukrainian garlic.
“We are now very much promoting our products among processing companies, but this process is very difficult because there are certain traditions that probably depend on public policy. Because of the great dominance of Chinese garlic. It is much cheaper and has strong advertising support in our country. It is much more profitable for our producers and importers to work with foreign raw materials. It is also very interesting for government agencies to deal with such raw materials, because a very large part of these products is smuggled, which means that they are cash,” Gudzovsky said.
To ensure its production of raw materials, the company will grow seed material and supply it to farms.
“As an enterprise with great traditions of its own production, we will produce seed material. In fact, we already make it and partially sell it to the surrounding farms and those who want to join this cause. And then we take the harvest from them. We try to establish our own agricultural control over the cultivation of raw materials because our finished products will get to companies that are very important for food safety. That is why we are very meticulous about the quality of raw materials,” Gudzovsky added.
According to Mr. Vasyl, garlic is a very promising product, but abandoned. About 200,000 tons of garlic are grown in Ukraine. It actually consumes about 40 thousand tons. This is together with what the population consumes from their own homesteads, and Ukrainian garlic, which is used by processing companies. Everything else just “flies into the air.” All the money and resources that farmers invest in this own mini-business, not only do not pay off but also bring losses.
“You can count: 150 thousand tons that fall into the landfill, multiplied by 30 hryvnias. We get a huge amount that our village loses. These are, for example, those subsidies that retirees receive from the budget, and could earn these funds themselves. Or, say, self-employed people, “the project manager added.
Gudzovsky noted that currently, only a small number of canneries remain in the country. They are unable to “absorb” the amount of garlic grown in Ukraine. Therefore, the establishment of integrated processing of garlic is an attempt to introduce a full production cycle, from its cultivation to “binding” to the final consumer, and make it attractive to the domestic processing industry.
Read also: Ukraine May Become the Third Largest Producer of Garlic in the World!
