Processing or Fruit-Based Drinks

Product Description:

There are a number of fruit types from which drinks or juices can be made. The common fruits from which fruit drinks or juices are made are organizes, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, papayas and other fruits of the citrus family. The juices or drinks are consumed usually during breakfast time or in refreshment hours. Processed fruits and drinks are normally packed in cans, bottles, plastic pouches or even in cartons.

Market Potential:

Currently, there are three main sources for the supply of fruit based drinks and juices in the country. The largest supply comes form households, snack shops, pastries, coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and “juice houses”. It is almost impossible to estimate the volume of supply from scattered sources. The other domestic source is Merti Fruits Processing Plant located in the Awash Valley. This plant has produced an average of abut 1300 tons of fruit drinks per year between 1986 and 1995; and during this period production by the plant had grown by 1.5 percent per year. The third source of supply is import. During the last 15 years, because of related foreign exchange control, imports of fruits drinks and juices have been growing fast. Now all the so-called super-markets and even small and large grocery stores are filled with imported fruit drinks and juices. In fact this has negative impact on domestic production. Some newly established “milk Processing” enterprises supply what they call “fruit juices” to the market. (How a milk, processing plant can produce fruit juice is not clear.)

The main determining factors for the demand of fruit juices and drinks are income and population size especially urban population. Admittedly, consumption of fruit juices and drinks in the Amhara Region is confined to a small section of the urban population. If we assume only 20 percent of the 400,000 urban families in the Region consume fruit juices and drinks regularly, the size of consumers in the Region is about 80,000. if we assume that a family of five consumes at least two liters of fruit juice or drink every day, the annual consumption of these products in the Region is 58,400 tons = (80,000X2 lit. X 365/100Kgs; 1000 lits.=1000Kgs.). One can feel this is very optimistic estimate. To be on the safe side, let us say the estimated demand is one-half of the above estimate. This leaves us with a potential demand of 26000 tons per year. This can justify the establishment of medium size fruit based drinks and juices producing plant. (project ideas have proposed the establishment of citrus fruits plantations in the Region.)

Sources of Raw Materials: Citrus fruits plantations in the Region and outside the Region.

Process and Technology:

It is assumed that orange juices and drinks will be the main products of the plant. The Process of producing these products require cleaning of the raw material (organs), warming the fruits peeling, juice extracting, pre-heating and cooling, centrifugalization, deaeration, seasoning, sterilization, filling, cooling, labeling and packing.

The main plant and machinery required are, receiving line and bins, inspection, washing and sizing, juice, extractors, finishers, pasteurizer, filler and sealer, cooling machine, labeler, centrifuge, evaporator, vessels with pumps, boiler, conveying unit, laboratory, concentrate production machinery and equipment.

Estimated Investment: For a plant that will produce about 10,000 tons of fruit juices and drinks, the estimated investment will be:

Buildings 3100m² at Br. 2000/m² ………………….=Birr 6,200,000

Plant and Machinery ……………………………= Birr 22,000,000

Working capital ………………………………… .= Birr 2,000,000

Total…………………… = Birr 30,200,000

Benefits: Saves foreign exchange and regional financial resources, stimulates regional production of citrus fruits promotes self-sufficiency in food production

Location: Bahir Dar or localities around like Tana