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Of the four 4 tons of fresh plums there is obtained about a ton of prunes and this product has a huge advantage: it can be stored up to two years.

On October 18, our team visited the farm "Cucu Parascovia Ion" in the village Jora de Mijloc, Orhei and met a family who, despite all the difficulties, showed determination and hard work and managed to achieve real success in managing an agricultural business. Apart from plums and quince orchards which they cultivated for years, Gheorghe Cucu, the head of the family and of the business, introduced us with his fruits dryer and invited us to see how this device works and how plums are being dehydrated.

A high quality fruits dryer requires significant investments

About four years ago, Gheorghe Cucu, an experienced farmer, decided to expand his business and bought a fruits dryer fruits from Serbia. The device includes two tunnels, with a capacity of 6 tons each. "These six tons can be processed within 24 hours. Under the influence of temperature, a fan rotates the fruits and remove their moisture until they rich a dry state" - told us Gheorghe Cucu.

The dryer functions on gas, it is fully automated, the operator just needs to select the temperature depending on the moisture content in the fruit. When the prunes producing begin the work takes place in two shifts, and containers with prunes are constantly replaced with new, with fresh plums, prepared for drying. The entrepreneur does not have a permanent team; he hires people depending on the season and type of work.

Mr. Gheorghe Cucu has invested a significant amount of money in the construction of storage facilities but the fruits dryer remains his most significant investment – it was purchased by 49,000 euros. Also, there are numerous annual expenditures. For example, in 2016, only the cost of a hundred tons of plums (in addition to plums cultivated by the entrepreneur), plus the costs associated with infrastructure, electricity, gas, payment of salaries amounted to 700,000 lei.

Delicious and fragrant prunes, ecologically pure rosehips

In the nearby hall prunes, made from 3 varieties of plums, are stored. They are very fragrant and fleshy. "Soon we will finish the autumn works and will begin to remove the seeds from the prunes and to pack them for sale. - said Gheorghe Cucu. Of the four 4 tons of fresh plums there is obtained about a ton of prunes and this product has a huge advantage: it can be stored up to two years without refrigeration, consequently it is much easier to find buyers for this type of product."

The businessman told us about the benefits of prunes of prunes made in such a dryer is comparison with smoked ones, which are often sold in the markets and shops in Chisinau. At home, the fruits are often dried on the fire and this makes them less healthy as they contain several carcinogenic substances.

Gheorghe Cucu also told us that that one should choose an appropriate fruit for making prunes. Plums should not be green but also not too ripe, because they contain a lot of water and will be lower in quality.

The entrepreneur usually manages to sell all the prunes he has in stock. For example, in previous years, the prunes were exported to the Ukrainian market and used by confectionery factories in the country. The prunes are also sold in the markets of Chisinau or are acquired by various local and international companies. Stored for two years, the product will surely find a buyer.

In the nearby warehouse there are stored about 2 tons of dry rosehips. They are ecologically pure as it they were gathered by the villagers from the hills and fields in the region.

In addition, the farmer provides fruits drying services for other producers from the region. For example, last year, a farmer ordered to dry for 60 tons of plums.

Development, investments and future plans

This year, Gheorghe Cucu plans for the first time to dry the quinces. For this purpose he purchased a special fruits cutting machine. In the future, the owner would like to dry herbs and various spices. He also plans to build a refrigerator, and a special room for the packaging of agricultural products.

Also the entrepreneur, along with four other farmers is going to create an association of dried fruit producers. At the moment, there are four of them and benefits of such an association are obvious: it is much easier to find buyers for a larger quantity of products.

All Cucu family is involved in the activities of the farmer. This business was founded by Gheorghe Cucu along with his wife, his daughter is in charge of all the accounting, and his son Jacob, who is currently studying for master degree in Iasi is the main hope of the farmer. "We continue to invest in this business, and I hope that my son Jacob in the future will take advantage of all this and will continue to successfully manage the farm." - concluded Gheorghe Cucu.