Abstract
This paper analyses various aspects of the cost-effectiveness of dried blueberry production. The drying performed was convective using straw as the main source of heat. A medium capacity dryer was used with a capacity of 400 kg of fresh blueberries per day, which is suitable for small family farms. The dryer would presumably be in operation for 135 days a year, of which a total of 15 days would be allocated for the drying of US blueberries. In the cost-price structure of dried blueberry production, fresh blueberries predominate as the basic raw material (77.03 %), followed by packaging costs (12.93 %), labour costs (6.13 %) and energy consumption costs (1.44 %). Supplanting straw with natural gas, as a much more favourable energy source, does not impede the cost-effectiveness of this production. The analysis performed shows that a total of 15 days of effective blueberry drying yields a net profit of €4.040, which is a very good financial result. Furthermore, the efficiency ratio is 1.28 and the rate of capital accumulation is 22.05 %. The investment costs of dryer construction are not high (about €31,000) and can be covered in less than two years.
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