Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXI
Written by Mihaela Cristina DRĂGHICI, Paul Alexandru POPESCU, Adina BAICU, Mona Elena POPA

Berries are worldwide recognized as valuable source of polyphenols, especially anthocyanins, micronutrients, and fibers. They are mainly industrialized as frozen fruits but also in jams, or pies. Some berries are commercially important but there are some limitations such as: short shelf life of fresh fruit and soft texture which require special attention on the berry chain logistic. The berry industry varies from country to country as well as the types of berries cultivated or wild berries. Berries are one of the greatest assets of the Romanian forests and they are known to be products of a very high. Berries originating from non-polluted forests are very popular in the foreign markets. Unfortunately, most often they are sold in foreign markets without being locally processed and thus Romanian processors are losing valuable Romanian customers. To analyze the requirements of the industry companies (production, harvesting and distribution of native berries) a questionnaire was designed and used as a research tool. This questionnaire represents a direct tool of collecting data and to communicate with the respondents. To investigate the value chain of berry fruits and its challenges, we opted for two ways: self-administered questionnaire which was either filled in on the spot or sent by electronic mail, then filled in by the person interviewed, and the questionnaire filled in by phone which was a faster and cheaper way to obtain the necessary answers. Over 200 questionnaires were sent by email to local branches of the National Forest Administration (ROMSILVA) but only 31 were filled in and sent to us. By phone, 20 persons of interest responded to our questionnaire.

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