The cherry season has already started in Romania, where Cerasus Grup, with its Panere brand, has launched its new sorting equipment purchased in Spain, with which it expects to significantly multiply its export volumes this year and gain access to new markets.
"Cerasus Grup is a growers' organization with more than 100 hectares of cherry, plum, apple and pear orchards, bordering Moldova and Ukraine. Our location makes us one of the country's late fruit producers," says Bogdan Baianu, the group's founding partner. "We were one of the first grower organizations in Romania; the second, in fact, and since our foundation we have grown in terms of quality and production volumes, as well as in storage and sorting capacity for all the fruits in our portfolio."
"In the specific case of cherries, we invested less than a month ago in a new sorting line. We traveled to Spain for a few days to visit many companies and see how lines similar to the one we have acquired in action, and by the end of this week we will put it into operation," says Bogdan.
"This latest technology is allowing us to improve the sorting and grading of our cherries and making it possible for us to supply the external and internal quality demanded by the export markets. We are one of the biggest suppliers to supermarkets in Romania, and we have exported cherries and plums to Italy, the Netherlands and all the countries covered by the great Dutch hub, including Germany, Belgium and the Scandinavian countries; but now we are ready to take a step to a higher level and quadruple our exports of Panere cherries. This will allow us to reach the end customer faster, increase our profitability and supply fresher fruit to consumers," says Bogdan.
And the commercial window for Panere's partners is certainly interesting. "Production in Romania starts just after Spain's has passed its peak, and also after Greece and Bulgaria have finished and before the start of the northern campaigns," says Bogdan.
"This year, Romania's cherry exports will increase again"
In general, Romania's cherry and stone fruit industry has recorded rapid growth in recent years. There were more plantings in the 2015-2017 period, and now the harvests and volumes traded on the international market are rapidly increasing. Besides, Panere, as well as other companies devoted to cherry production, has focused on export varieties like the Sweet, Kordia and Regina lines, which attract a lot of interest in the European market.
"This year there is a lot of interest in Romanian cherries because of a shortage of fruit in Europe, and we are already being contacted by wholesalers and importers from various countries. People are looking for quality cherries, and we produce fruit that reaches between 18 and 21 Brix degrees."
"We are also a major cherry supplier to the processed fruit industry, with approximately 500-1000 tons a year delivered to Italy, to one of the world's leading cherry processors. This year, thanks to the acquisition of the new sorting line, we will be able to quadruple our export volumes of fresh cherries. With this investment, we want to go a step further and become a packing house not only for our producers, but for the country's cherry exporting sector," said Bogdan.
For more information:
Bianca Baianu (Spain)
Panere
Tel.: +34 693 73 63 41
bianca@panere.ro
https://panere.ro/en
Bogdan Baianu (Romania)
Panere
Tel.: +40 740 025216
bogdan@panere.ro
https://panere.ro/en