Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Eightfold more new corrugated board boxes are purchased for peach packing in Odesa oblast
According to information provided by Dmitriy Chernyak, the Market Information Specialist of Odesa office, Agricultural Marketing Project, peach producers - AMP clients in Odesa oblast purchased eight times more specialized boxes for peach packing this year comparing to previous year. Peach producers bought 21,000 corrugated board boxes in 2006.
Past year AMP persuaded the members of FAVORIT service cooperative to test a totally new practice for Ukraine. AMP specialists suggested cooperative members packing peaches in the corrugated board boxes with individual cells; however, it was viewed at the time by many farmers simply as an unnecessary additional cost. AMP developed the design of the box, logo, and slogan for the cooperative and helped to purchase 2,500 boxes and сells. Results of using modern packing approaches have been very impressive: it reduced peach losses during transportation to virtually zero and helped sell peaches with a 50% premium over other locally produced peaches packed in a traditional way. Moreover, coop's contact information provided on the boxes brought them a lot of new clients who could buy more than they could produce altogether.
Recognizing the importance of developing a strong brand, maintaining the quality of their produce and adding value, the cooperative members have already ordered similar boxes to be used in 2006 and paid for them without any financial contribution from AMP.
Moreover, the successful experience of FAVORIT cooperative was demonstrated during AMP Orchard day past year; other regional peach producers took note of it and purchased similar boxes in the beginning of this year.
This year AMP conducted Orchard day on the 6th of July; the issue of modern packing was also in focus of attention of peach producers. Judging from this fact, we suppose that the days of banana box are numbered in Odesa oblast, as local farmers will hardly utilize them for peach packing for a long time.