Greenhouse in Kazakhstan supplies Siberia with fresh produce

A greenhouse complex in Topar, Kazakhstan has recently been reconstructed by its new owners - now they supply not only Kazakhstan with fresh fruit and vegetables, but also cities in Siberia. Kapital.kz interviewed Soultan Moursalimov, the director of LLP Greenhouses of Topar, on the profitability of growing vegetables in Kazakhstan for export.

The reconstruction that started in 2011 presupposed first of all repair of the old blocks, restoration of the glazing as well as full replacement of technologies on 14 ha. A decision has been made on transferring from working with soil to growing plants in substrate. At the same time a drip system was installed. Before the reconstruction, watering was done manually, with hoses.

In the first season 6.5 ha of cucumbers, 5 ha of tomatoes, 1 ha of bell peppers, 1 ha of greenery (lettuce, dill, parsley etc.) were planted. In 2014, the company opened another 8 ha greenhouse, dedicated to cucumber cultivation. Bell peppers occupy 0.6 ha there, and finally, over 0.4 ha is dedicated to lemon cultivation, yielding 40 tons of fruit a year. The total acreage of the greenhouse complex is 20 ha, and 250 people are employed.

The new greenhouse, with supplemental lighting, has made it possible to cultivate year-round. In January 2016, around 30 tons of vegetables were harvested, compared to 40 tons in the first month of 2017. January of this year has set a record of 85 tons.

“Our production plan for the current year is 4.5 thousand tons, while in 2017 we produced 4.2 thousand tons”, says Soultan Moursalimov. “We could have increased productivity much more considerably if we used the full capacity of supplemental lighting. Currently we are using it only partially, the lamps are working a third to their power capacity. The reason is lack of supply pressure, that is lack of electrical energy. If we solve the issue, we could increase vegetables production output to 50%, to 6.5 thousand tons a year."

In 2014 the cost estimate of a new 3 km electrical line and substation construction was calculated and evaluated at 1.87 million euros. There is a chance that in summer the line will be built and next season the greenhouses will be working with full lighting.

An increase in the volume of cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers will allow not only to cover the needs of the region itself but also to increase the export. Currently around 20% of produce by greenhouses of Topar is sent to trade chains in Siberia. Among the end customers are city dwellers of Omsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo and others.

Currently, those regions mainly consume vegetables imported from China. With the produce coming in from the local greenhouses, transport times are shorter, making the products fresher when they arrive in the store.

Greenhouses of Topar originally were aiming at growing organic products. At the company's laboratory, they grow beneficial insects, to fight various pests, such as aphids and white flies. The company also imports bumblebees from Europe and Israel to the greenhouse. One of the "workplaces" for these bumblebees is the lemon garden in the greenhouse.

“Originally the young plants were brought from Uzbekistan, Moscow and Ust-Kamenogorsk”, says agronomist Elena Zhurableva regarding the lemon cultivation. “They were planted in 2000 and in 2004 they gave the first crop. The choice of varieties was very successful: Meyer and Yubileinyj lemons are juicier and tastier than the imported ones. Moreover, the skin is very thin.”

By the way, there is a small part of the greenhouse where other exotic trees grow: tangerines, grapefruit and coconuts. This way, visitors to the greenhouse get to experience a bit of an oasis-like atmosphere, even in the Siberian cold of winter.

Source: kapital.kz