Scientific Papers Series B Horticulture

Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture. Vol. LVII, 2013Print ISSN 2285-5653, CD-ROM ISSN 2285-5661, Online ISSN 2286-1580, ISSN-L 2285-5653AbstractRESEARCHES REGARDING THE INFLUENCE OF APPLE FRUITSORTING UPON THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCYIN THE COMMERCIALISATION PROCESSAdrian CHIRA, Lenua CHIRA, Elena STOIANUniversity of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest,59 Mrti Blvd., District 1, 011464, Bucharest, RomaniaCorresponding author email: achira63@yahoo.comVery often, the fruit tree- growing exploitations sell their gross production directly from the unit immediately afterharvesting, without storing it. The present paper aims at printing out the economic differences in apple within the fruittree-growing area of Voinesti –Dambivita country, comparing the gross selling of the quality – classified harvest. Thehigher economic efficiency, calculated for the Redix and Ariwa varieties in comparison with the Jonathan and GoldenDelicious varieties is also due to the fact that for the first two varieties the production costs were lower, thanks to thesmaller number of phytosanitary treatments, since these have genetic endurance to the scab disease.Key words: average quality coefficient, quality variation index.INTRODUCTIONIn Romania, agricultural exploitations moreand more market-oriented, becomingincreasingly commercial. In the traditionallyfruit tree-, grapevine – and vegetable – growingareas, the commercial feature is even moreobvious, as production always exceedsconsumption and the surplus is destined tomarket. Nevertheless, the economic results ofthe production activities are influenced byseveral factors such as: the exploitation size,average productions, product quality, availablefinancial resources, the exploitation manager’sexperience, pedoclimatic factors, etc.Production commercialisation also plays animportant part. Very often, the furuit treegrowingexploitations sell their grossproduction directly from the unit immediatelyafter harvesting, without storing it. Thiscommercialisation method is determined byvarious factors, among which: insufficient orimproper storage space; the need to obtainimmediate financial resources for starting theproduction cycle again; difficulties in the retailselling system (particularly the reduced timebudget of the producer – the only of theproducer – the only or the main working forceof the exploitation, additional expensesresulting from going to the market, etc).More, this commercialisation method mayderive the producer of an important share of theprofit which is transferred to the commerciallink. Fruit quality influences the valorizationprice directly (Stoian et al., 2002). The largefruit supply compared with the reduced demandresults is unique – price selling, neglecting theadvantages of previous merchandiseclassification according to quality.The present paper aims at printing out theeconomic differences in apple within the fruittree-growing area of Voinesti, Dâmbovita,comparing the gross selling for a unique priceper kilogram with the retail selling of thequality – classified harvest.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe data resulted from the actual results ofapple production in a family exploitationlocated in the fruit-tree growing area ofVoinesti, Dâmbovita. The varieties grown wereJonathan, Golden Delicious, Redix, Ariwa.The data analysis was performed by calculatingsome technical and economic indicators(income, expenses, profit), while the varietyquality assessment was made by determiningthe quality variation indices and the averagequality coefficient of the variety and the groupof varieties (Pana et al., 1983).399