LNZ Group starts berry cooperative for agriproducers under Tevitta brand

LNZ Group has established a berry cooperative for agribusinesses all over Ukraine, the company officials told Latifundist.com.

As marked by the company, from the very beginning, berry production was established as a separate business segment. Later on, the company management came to the conclusion that by having a closed business system one can achieve more. LNZ Group is convinced that berry production has the potential to be a profitable business if it is based not only on growing but also on processing.

"We have started diversifying: we built a plant equipped with high-tech equipment, passed certification, so we have all the appropriate certifications to enter the global market, including BRC Global Standard for Food Safety and GLOBAL G.A.P. In fact, the plant is already producing foodstuffs for export to the European market," adds Victor Kravchenko, owner of Tevitta.

The LNZ Group managers then realized that the idea of diversifying production could be a driving force for farmers currently engaged in berry production, or for those who would like to try it but are afraid to venture into this new niche lacking guaranteed markets. This is how the idea of the Tevitta cooperative came about.

To those who become part of the cooperative, the company offers:

• InVitro raspberry, strawberry and blackberry seedlings;
• agro-technological support;
• plant protection products and fertilizers.

The cooperative's members will be guaranteed the sale of their products for processing at the plant, the company says in a statement.

Non-members of the cooperative, if they wish so, can contract the plant to process their products and store them until a better price is available.

"For example, a farmer thinks that there is no point in selling berries at a low price during the season. He enters into an agreement with the plant to freeze and store the products or just to freeze them as he intends to sell them himself," explains the company.

Besides freezing and storage, the Tevitta plant provides other services for the production of frozen products, including the following:

• laboratory analysis of incoming raw materials;
• cleaning of fresh raw materials in compliance with the standards;
• cutting if necessary;
• freezing the prepared product;
• cleaning the raw material with the SORTEX optical sorter;
• packing in various types of containers;
• storage of products in warehouses at -20°C;
• Private Label production services.

As a reminder, in 11M 2021, a record was set for export shipments of fruit and berry products from Ukraine — USD 329 mln.