Dried or dehydrated fruits are popular snacks throughout the world due to their health benefits, as they contain much of the fruits’ nutritional value, including vitamins, minerals and fiber. They also make for a great way to enjoy seasonal produce all year long.
One of the oldest food preservation processing technique is dehydration that removes moisture so as to prevent spoilage or decay.
The removal of water content gives food a longer shelf life without destroying much of its nutritional value.
In addition to its preserving effect, dehydration also decreases the weight and volume of the fruit, making transport and storage cheaper.
Lack of a well-developed distribution network for agricultural products and unavailability of certain fruit varieties in different parts of the world are other reasons for the popularity of dehydrated fruits in many countries.
An article by Persian daily Ta’adol investigates the investment opportunities and costs of establishing a fruit dehydration company in Iran.
Morteza Pir-Ata, manager of a packaging machinery manufacturing company, believes the sector has good potential for investment due to low level of risks involved and high profit margin.
Availability of a wide variety of high-quality fruit products from local producers and self-sufficiency of domestic industries in the production of machinery are other advantages of investing in the sector, according to the expert.
He noted that while Iran has been successful in exporting dried fruit, including apricot, grapes (raisins) and various plums, huge potential still exists for investing in dehydration of fruits such as peach, pear, apple and kiwi.
Capital Requirement
The capital required for establishing a dried fruit snack production facility varies depending on the type of product and volume of production.
The machinery used for dehydrating fruits such as apricot, apple, peach and pear include conveyor, blancher, seed removing machine and dryer.
Setting up a factory with a production capacity of 600 kilograms per year requires a capital of about 1.2 billion rials (about $35,000 at market exchange rate) for purchasing the equipment.
Another 1 billion rials (around $30,000) are required as working capital.
The estimated investment excludes the cost of land and building, which should cover an area of at least 1,000 square meters.
Packaging is another important aspect of the industry, which can be studied as a separate investment option. This means some investors can consider entering the packaging industry to provide services to the manufacturing companies.
Establishing a medium-sized food and snack packaging production line is estimated to cost about 500 million rials ($15,000), while high-quality state-of-the-art packaging for export products would require an investment of up to 5 trillion rials (about $150,000) or more.
If the manufacturer aims to enter the export markets, it is also highly important to set up a laboratory facility to closely monitor the quality of manufactured products and ensure compliance with global quality standards.
