Following another year of harsher rainy weather across Serbia that negatively impacted blueberry, raspberry and other soft fruit production, Sanja Larsson, CEO and owner of Serbian berry producer Pureberry, has a stark warning for the berry growing industry in Serbia, but certainly further afield too.
“We can no longer rely on the climate. I have taken precautions with big investments in infrastructure as well as the cold chain. During the difficult times such as this year, you have to make more investments while your margins will be lower. This means it will cost you maybe double your production costs but you need to do everything to make sure you technically overcome these challenges to deliver to clients. It rains and there is sun everywhere. Serbian producers need to understand the days of picking and storing without a proper cold chain are over,” warns Larsson.
This warning follows after yet another year of spring and early summer rain that has caused very little raspberries to be exported. Blueberries production in Serbia, which exports to the rest of Europe has also been affected.
Larsson’s Pureberry, with production fields in a village called Jamena near the Serbian and Croatian border and another in Gokcanica of 55 hectares, is surrounded by rich forest landscapes of the Dinaric Mountains of south-western Serbia. She owns Pureberry Fruits Rouges in France with their own transport company in the group called Pure Logistics.
“My message may sounds harsh, but I’m the investor and producer, I’m self-judging. As producer you have to be ready to deal with climate change, while continuing to satisfy your clients to still provide what they expect. What they expect is not what you expect. You cannot blame the weather anymore. If you concluded a programme, from eg. Weeks 24 – 39, you have to respect it. They are not going to care, they want to fill their shelves, they are not going to give you more or less. You have to be flexible with your clients, you have to manage your own issues. It is no longer acceptable, nor interesting to retail but you have to own the challenges, to learn how to deal with the harsh conditions. If I tell my client I can’t pack in the 10 different packs they require, there will say we’re going to another packer and source country,” explains Larsson.
She says the right investments in the production infrastructure as well as cooling facilities is needed to minimise risks and take the needed precautions to ensure delivery to clients. “You need the right amount of large investments. I invested €20 million into our facilities, for the newest machines, packing lines as well as in irrigation, substrates, and the much needed cold chain facilities. Those are enormous costs but producers have to pool resources cooperatively like they do in Spain and Italy. So, when it rains you have the right production technology and cold chain facilities to make sure you stay within the MRL levels to protect the fruit. Employ good quality managers and agronomist in the field. We need to have a very good set-up in infrastructure it was the only way. You can’t export to retail from a country where the infrastructure is lacking. We have a 4,000 square meters facility, besides our plantation, with green energy through solar panels on the roof and the recycling of waste water.”
While concluding Larsson encourages berry producers in Serbia to actively engage their local municipalities to prepare as best for storms to minimise the impact of heavy rains that causes floods. “Unless you roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, nothing will happen. We simply have to raise the level of professionalism in Serbian berry and fruit production.”
For more information:
Sanja Larsson
Pureberry
Tel: +33 6 23 671 857
Email: sanja.larsson@pureberry.fr
www.pureberry.rs