|
Macedonian “bambolino” watermelons on UK tables
 Agrolozar
is an agribusiness, located in the small village of
Hamsali in the Boslilovo, Strumica region of
southeast Macedonia, which exports agricultural
produce from the region. Agrolozar was established
as a private company in 1993, and in 2003 85%
ownership of the company was bought by Agrohemija
Ltd., Skopje.
Following the take-over, Agrohemija sought to be an
important commercial producer of vegetables in open
fields, heated greenhouses and plastic, as well as a
significant supplier of early tomatoes and table
grapes. It has grown rapidly and has become a
leading company in the registration and distribution
of commercial seeds in Macedonia.
Today the company provides assistance to its
customers for the effective utilization of first
class hybrid varieties of vegetable crops developed
in USA and Holland. It produces some of the products
it markets on 840 hectares of land of which 600
hectares are vineyards and the remainder is orchards
of peaches, pears, melons, and, “bambolino”
watermelons.
 Agrohemija
is the only producer of “bambolino” watermelons in
the Balkans, and has “bambolino” customers in
Germany, Holland and Austria. Because the company
lacked contacts with buyers from the UK, yet had an
interest in exporting to that market, Agrohemija
management asked USAID’s AgBiz Program for
assistance to access to UK markets.
AgBiz’s overall objective is to increase economic
growth in Macedonia through expanded, sustainable
production and sales of value-added agricultural
products, achieved by enhancing the ability of
producers and processors to compete regionally and
globally. With the active support of AgBiz staff, a
successful linkage was established between
Agrohemija and a WalMart partner in the United
Kingdom for selling “bambolinos”.
|
