About the raspberry business in practice, or what they won’t tell you in magazines

Advantages of a business growing raspberries

1. High yields subject to technology. Some successful farmers manage to get, without exaggeration, up to 28 tons per hectare per season.
2. The price of raspberries on the market starts from 200 rubles, and in large cities it is even higher. Even if you sell it wholesale to resellers at 2 times cheaper, the “exhaust” is not small. From one hectare you can earn more than 2 million rubles. (not profit, but revenue).
3. A good harvest can be obtained already in the second year after planting, if proper care is taken.
4. Many options for making profit from a raspberry plantation. You can not only sell fresh berries, but also process raspberries into jam or medicinal raw materials, as well as sell seedlings. The price for one seedling is no less than 80 - 100 rubles.

Some large farms are engaged in drying raspberries and then selling the dried fruits for medical purposes (for the production of syrups, for example). You can look at the real demand for raspberries on Agroserver.ru:

For all its advantages, the raspberry business is far from a simple activity. Otherwise, every second farmer would grow raspberries. We will talk about the pitfalls of this activity below.

Possible business risks

The main risks of this business:

1. Low yield or crop failure. The reason may be the wrong choice of variety, poor care of the plantings (not enough or too much sun, drought or swampy terrain, lack of fertilizers, inappropriate soil acidity, pest infestation or disease, etc.). To avoid this, you need to practice in a small area and evaluate all the nuances of growing this berry.
2. Lack of distribution channels. You need to sell the berries quickly, preferably immediately on the day of collection. If you don't find buyers, the crop may die.

Features of growing raspberries

The first rule for effectively growing raspberries is to choose light areas for planting. Raspberries love the sun and practically do not bear fruit in the shade. It is also worth paying attention to the acidity of the soil - this indicator should be within 5.5 - 6 pH.

Swampy areas are also excluded. Groundwater must pass below 1.5 m. The planting density of individual varieties and seedlings of “Frigo” can be 40,000 units. per hectare. It is not recommended to thicken the plants - it is better to leave 5-6 shoots, which will contribute to better light penetration and ventilation of the bush. The installation of trellises allows you to save a significant part of the crop, since the plant often falls to the ground under the weight of its own fruits.

Nitrogen and potassium fertilizers are used to grow raspberries.

The plants are fed with azophoska or kemira (1 liter of solution per bush). To accelerate the growth and development of plants, potassium growth concentrate is used. To protect against weeds, the surface of the soil under the raspberries is covered with straw.

The highest price for raspberries is in June. Just 200 grams of berries can be sold at this time for 150 - 200 rubles.

The plant does not tolerate drought, so in particularly dry places it is necessary to resolve the issue of watering. If you neglect this, the berry will turn out small and dry. Some successful farms use a drip irrigation system for this purpose.

If the places opposite are famous for precipitation, then it makes sense to use so-called canopies, because excess moisture has a bad effect on raspberries - the berries begin to become limp. Under a canopy, the plants will be protected not only from heavy rainfall, but also from direct sunlight (which causes the berries to lose their juiciness).

How to sell products

The collected raspberries need to be sold as quickly as possible. There are several channels for selling crops:

• independent sale on the market;
• sales through retail chains;
• sales to catering establishments;
• trade through hired sellers or fruit stalls;
• delivery of products to procurement points;
• independent production of jam, confitures, juices or compotes.

The shelf life of raspberries is short, so they should not be sold. Self-processing of berries will help minimize losses. Preserves, jams and juices are sold at a higher trade margin, and the business becomes more profitable. Berries can be frozen; for this you need to purchase industrial freezing units and a packaging production line.

With proper organization of the plantation, the profitability of the business reaches 65%, which is very good. The payback period for the project is from 2 to 3 years.

Growing raspberries is an interesting and promising business. Starting with a small plot planted with bushes of remontant varieties, you can gradually expand the plantations, experimenting with different flavors of berries. The use of greenhouses will make the business out of season; in late autumn or winter, tender and tasty berries are especially in demand.

Which variety to choose

Experienced farmers will say that half the success in building a profitable raspberry business depends on the correct choice of variety. So, simply by choosing the right variety, you can increase the yield by 1.5 - 2 times. Today there are many good varieties of both Russian and Ukrainian selection.

The most popular varieties that are mentioned on every forum are:

• Polka,
• Brusvyana,
• Companion,
• Patricia,
• Hussar,
• Maker,
• Willamette,
• Tulamen.

When choosing remontant varieties that bear fruit continuously (before the onset of frost), you need to be more prudent. Such raspberries require special care and not everyone manages to get the long-awaited harvest. In addition, most varieties begin to bear fruit only by the beginning of August (in central Russia), when the price of berries is the lowest.

This happens because repair varieties must be cut at the root. Over the summer, the plant has time to grow and produce a harvest on the new shoot. In other words, remontant raspberries bear fruit on annual shoots. Meanwhile, ordinary raspberry varieties are not cut and bear berries already in June.

What documents are needed to open?

In order to be able to sell products through stores or public catering outlets in the future, you must register as an individual entrepreneur. Everything must be done legally: it will give you peace of mind, and government control services will not create obstacles for your business.

After you register as an individual entrepreneur, you must receive an OKVED code: 301.13.21. This business code allows you to grow various berries, including raspberries.

Then you need to register with the tax office. As an agricultural worker, you will be required to pay product tax in the amount of 6% of sales.

Picking berries is not an easy task

Harvesting is one of the most difficult processes in the raspberry business. Raspberries for fresh sale are collected exclusively by hand. The berries are small, which makes the process very protracted. Plus, cleaning occurs most often in extreme heat.

It is necessary to attract a large amount of labor, which seriously increases the cost of the harvest. The technique for picking berries is used only in case of processing. It is worth saying that only large farms can afford to buy a raspberry harvesting machine.

Collection, storage and important points

In order not to lose the harvest, you need to harvest it correctly - the profitability of the whole business largely depends on meeting the deadlines. The berries are harvested when dry. You need to carefully remove each fruit from the receptacle. The berries are placed in a perfectly dry container. Water quickly makes them unusable, so you can’t wash raspberries - only before eating.

Raspberries are stored in the top of the refrigerator, away from the freezer, away from any other food. To preserve maximum vitamins, you can dry the berries. The demand for dried raspberries is quite high. If it was not possible to sell part of the harvest, jam is made from it or the berries are frozen.

How much can you earn from a raspberry plant?

The average price of raspberries in regional towns is 200 rubles/kg (2015 - 2020). In supermarkets it is about 20% more expensive. In Moscow and a number of other large cities you can find a price tag of 400 rubles/kg or more. A quick calculation shows that the sale of 10 tons of berries can bring from 2 million rubles. revenue.

Is everything really so “sweet”? It is worth noting that focusing exclusively on retail sales is not correct. If the farm is small (10 - 50 acres), then the harvest can still be realized somehow on your own, for example, in the classic way from a car “by the side of the road.”

With large harvests, things are much more complicated. Raspberries are an extremely transportable berry. In fresh form, it is in demand only on the first day after harvest. Can you imagine what difficulties can await a farmer who collects hundreds of kilograms of berries every day? To sell large volumes, it is necessary to install dozens of retail outlets throughout the city, which is practically impossible to do.

Therefore, when planning a raspberry business, the first step is to work out distribution channels for the berries, which should primarily be wholesale. Ideally, the business should be based on the principle: morning picking and immediate sale of berries in bulk to a reseller or processor.

But here it is worth noting that wholesale berries will cost 1.5 - 2 times cheaper. The income seems to be less, but on the other hand, the farmer saves himself from many of the problems that are inherent in retail trade. Among the main fixed costs of a raspberry farm, it is worth highlighting the cost of labor (especially during the harvest period), the cost of watering, fertilizers and packaging.

By the way, the best packaging for the harvest is considered to be 2 kg plastic containers for retail, and 10-20 kg polymer boxes for wholesale.

Structure of an investment project for a raspberry growing company

To obtain a document that fully describes the project and confirms its effectiveness with calculations, it is necessary to include the following sections in the plan of the raspberry growing :

• integrated market analysis of the dynamics of key industry indicators;
• calculation ;
• technological nuances of growing raspberries ;
• operating expenses and operating income;
• issues of staffing and the size of the salary fund;
• features of the promotion and sales complex;
• determination of the payback period.

Sale of seedlings

A separate area of ​​earning money from raspberries can be the sale of seedlings. Good varieties are actively being purchased by other farms, as well as by summer residents and amateur gardeners. Cuttings are obtained by cutting shoots from adult plants.

The cut is made with a knife or pruning shears, just a couple of centimeters below the soil level. Growing cuttings is best done in glass or film greenhouses with fogging units.

To simultaneously grow 1000 seedlings, it is necessary to construct a cutting plant measuring only 2x5 meters. The wholesale price of raspberry seedlings averages 80 - 100 rubles. The sale of 1,000 seedlings can bring the farm an additional 80 - 100 thousand rubles.

About the nuances

Without knowing anything about the technical aspects of working with shrubs, you cannot count on good profitability in growing raspberries as a business. The technology of work depends on the chosen variety, but there are general recommendations. So, it is necessary to select the lightest possible area. The more sun the bush gets, the better the berries will ripen. The second important aspect is the provision of water. The shrub should receive a lot of liquid. If the rains are weak, you need to irrigate the plantation regularly.

Watering is not the only procedure that raspberries need. From time to time the bush needs to be fed. Use organic fertilizers. Most often, a potassium-phosphorus mixture is chosen.

Raspberries need to be trimmed regularly. It is advisable to hold the event in March and November. When pruning, leave no more than five of the strongest shoots, removing all others.

How much can you earn

The initial investment depends on the area of ​​the plot and the type of seedlings purchased. The larger the area and the more expensive the seedlings, the more money needs to be spent at the initial stage. Purchase of seedlings from 150 to 300 rubles. There are also more expensive ones, depending on the variety.

The profitability of a business is related not only to demand and the established price, but also to climatic conditions and sales markets. Since it is fashionable to sell raspberries both to private owners and to processing organizations and retail chains.

How much money do you need to start a business?

The amount of starting capital depends on the variety of berries and the size of the sown area. For a small plot of several hundred square meters, the investment will be only a few thousand rubles, and for an area of ​​several hectares, seedlings alone can cost from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles. If you do not own the land, you will also have to pay rent.

Don't forget about the fixed costs - for fertilizers, watering, paying seasonal workers during harvest, as well as for packaging for raspberries.

Raspberry growing technology

1. Before planting seedlings, it is necessary to inspect the roots. If there are thickenings, this indicates a disease, they must be cut off.
2. Raspberries should be planted in early spring or late autumn. The distance between rows is 1.5 m, between plants 0.5 m. The plant is planted to a depth of 10 cm. After planting, the plants must be watered, the soil mulched, and shoots cut off above the ground. If this variety needs trellises, then stakes 1.5-1.8 m high are driven in every 5 meters. Next year a wire will be stretched to them and raspberries will be tied up.
3. If the raspberries are summer, they will bear fruit the second year. In the first year, they are engaged in thinning, weed control, and watering.
4. In the second year, fertilizers are added to the soil and watering is done. Raspberries love sunny areas and abundant watering.

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Advantages and disadvantages of business

1. The business is suitable for owners of private houses and rural residents.
2. Growing organic products is always in demand among the population.
3. It is profitable to grow raspberries, especially rare varieties; it is always a win-win option.
4. You can earn income the very next year after planting the seedlings.
5. With the application of organic fertilizers and constant care and cultivation of productive, remontant varieties, the yields will be high, and the business will be profitable and promising.

The main disadvantages of the business include:

• seasonality;
• the possibility of death of shoots during severe frosts;
• instability of some varieties to drought, pest damage;

Land plot and purchase of bushes

The larger the plot of land you plan to use, the more you will have to spend on planting material and the more workers you will need to hire, and these are additional costs.

Therefore, you should start a business growing raspberries with about 10 acres. The site should be chosen wisely. It should not be exposed to drafts; it should receive enough sunlight.

In order for the entire area to be used usefully, it is first better to resort to master planting, which involves partial purchase of plants.

This way you can choose the most suitable raspberry variety and understand how best to care for it. As a result, by sowing only one third of the plot, for several years you can get a raspberry plant that will occupy the entire territory allocated for it.

To grow raspberries there is no need for large investments in equipment. If you have a personal plot, then all that remains is to purchase a manual cultivator and organize an irrigation system.

The average price for seedlings of remontant varieties is 150 rubles. As for ordinary plants, their cost is approximately 100 rubles. As a result, you will have to spend about 25 thousand rubles to sow three acres. In this case, the calculation was made that there will be 75 raspberry bushes per 100 square meters of land.