Preservation of food stuffs has been conceived as an art of living ever since the dawn of human history. At present, various methods of preserving food can be cited, such as canning, refrigeration, drying, salt-pickling, sugar preservation and smoking. The scope of the study is the preservation of dried pea canning from the time it is delivered to the plant until it arrives at the wholesale customer.
The protein concentration of peas range is from 15.5-39.7%, which can be consumed in either roasted, boiled or in any other forms. Dried pea canning is preferred than fresh pea canning, because of unstable high quality of packing of fresh pea.
MARKET STUDY
Past Supply and Present Demand
The average size of exported peas during the first five years of the study period (1997-2001) was 70 tons. This figure has significantly grown to an average of 531 tons during the last four years of the study period (2002-2005). Similarly, the average magnitude of imported canned pea has grown from an average of 17 tons during the first five years of the study period to an average of 2,053 tons in the last four years.
Process Description
Peas are delivered from the field in trucks. The peas are fed in to an electrically driven conveyor system that washes, removes vines and leaves, removes ends and cuts the peas and sorts them by diameter. About ten percent of the water used in this process is lost to spray and splashes. One quarter of the mass of the peas is removed in this process and sent to a dairy as feed.
Water packed in the canned peas is not chlorinated. Prior to filling, the peas are weighed. When there is a direct filling undergoing a salting process in order to preserve the freshness of the raw materials.
Before seaming, each must be weighed in order to prevent shortage of weight. Then the blanching is performed (Blanching means rapidly heating peas to denatures the enzymes contribute to loss of color). It is performed using boiling of water or steam, either in rotating drums or in drench baskets. Then after testing of cans for leakage, cooling of cans inside the cooling tank, the material is ready for dispatch. The technological process has no any adverse environmental impact.
INVESTEMENT
The total investment requirement is estimated at Birr 18.58 million, out of which Birr 2.77 million is required for plant and machinery.
The project is financially viable with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 17.01% and a net present value (NPV) of Birr 8.60 million, discounted at 8.5%.