RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS FOR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, STORAGE AND PROCESSING VEGETABLES AND FRUITS

Production, storage and processing of vegetables and fruits is the most productive export-oriented sector of agriculture and food industry in Serbia.Vegetables and fruits is the third export product of Serbia with the annual exports of 466.5 million USD(SIEPA 2007).It is estimated that the capacity is about 300,000 tons of quick frozen vegetables and fruits,but at a very low technological level. Therefore, this project is designed to integrate all the resources in the achievement of technology and industrial systems, the equipment for growing and harvesting vegetables and fruit, equipment and technological lines for the preparation and processing, systems and equipment for energy-efficient and environmentally acceptable cooling and storage, to the technological lines for calibration and packaging of fresh and quick frozen fruits and vegetables, intended for the domestic market and transfer of technology to foreign markets. The planned results of this project include:published 34 papers in the leading national journals,8 papers in international conferences,5 papers in leading international journals,4 new production lines,5 significantly improved the existing technology,2 doctoral dissertations, at least 1 monograph and 2 new products or technologies introduced into production outside of Serbia. The project has engaged a very experienced research team consisting of researchers who have great research experience and participants with great potential and experience in this field.