Articles
Processing of plums into brandy – a matter of the economic feasibility of growing plum (Prunus domestica) in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Plum is the leading fruit crop in Bosnia and Herzegovina with more than 12 million fruit trees.
Plum production is characterised by extensive plantations dominated by cultivars of plums mostly processed into brandy (autochthonous cultivars ‘Čačanska Rodna’, ‘Stanley’). In recent years, modern plantations of plum cultivars primarily intended for the fresh market have been established.
The research involved an analysis of the use-price of plums processed into brandy.
The average yield of 12,000 kg ha-1 was taken into account in the analysis i.e., the average achieved in extensive plum orchards with 400-450 trees ha-1. Fuel, service and labour costs account for the largest percent of plum processing costs.
When plums are processed into brandy and sold in the local market, their use-price (alternative selling price) is EUR 0.24 (BAM1
Bosnia and Herzegovina currency convertible marka (international baking code – BAM) has a fixed exchange rate, 1 BAM=0.511292 EUR.
0.48), which in some years corresponds to the selling price of plums for fresh consumption.
The results show that, depending on the sensitivity of change in selling prices and the quantity of brandy produced (yield), the selling price of plums processed into brandy varies between EUR 0.08 and 0.44 (BAM 0.16 and 0.88). The problem facing plum brandy production in Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the fact that a large number of small-scale producers do not use a standardised technology and proper technical conditions.
Harmonisation of these issues with the European standards in the coming period will be a specific challenge for plum producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.