First established in 1991, Khuvsgul Center LLC has been engaged in agricultural production since 2008 to provide consumers, both local and from Ulaanbaatar, with high-quality fresh vegetables grown in Mongolia. “Vegetable processing opportunities and capacity are very limited in rural areas, and we try to work with local vegetable growers as much as we can. We learn from each other” says P. Otgon- Ochir, a director of Khuvsgul Center. The SECiM project intervened in the vegetable value chain to promote the formation of farmer cooperatives, resource pooling, and the transfer of new technologies in order to support business activities of value chain stakeholders. For a country with a harsh continental climate, one growing season with a high level of post-harvest losses, storing vegetables long-term is a real challenge. To assist in addressing this challenge, project piloted Individual Quick Freezing technology at two sites, including Murun city in Khuvsgul aimag.

The trial for flash freezing a variety of vegetables using IQF occurred in June 2020. In the autumn of 2020, Khuvsgul Center produced over 10 tons of deep-frozen vegetables such as rhubarb, cucumber, capsicum, spring onion, cabbage, bok choy and watermelon from the company’s greenhouses, as well as potatoes, carrots, turnips and rhubarb purchased from other vegetable producers. These products are being sold at the Nomin, Sansar and E-Mart supermarket chains.

Since the introduction of IQF technology, Khuvsgul Center has purchased vegetables from more than 70 vegetable producers. The adoption of IQF in Khuvsgul Center directly resulted in a total of 30 full time and part-time jobs, stimulated the formation of a farmer cooperative and has increased the income opportunities among vegetable producers. This is an example of how a location-specific production that adds value through processing is being developed in Murun city, continuing to contribute to sustainable income opportunities for vegetable producers. The company’s plan for 2021 includes the launching of a contract farming program and work on import substitute products, including deep-frozen wild blueberries, broccoli, cauliflower and potato chips.

INSTANT QUICK FREEZING (IQF) TECHNOLOGY

The semi-arid climate and geographic conditions of Mongolia, only support a single growing season as such fresh vegetables can only be harvested once a year. While there is a certain amount of benefit from productivity and diversity of produce, better storage technology has to be the priority. Better storage technology will enable vegetables to be kept for longer periods of times, whilst also keeping the loss of nutrients and vitamins to a minimum.

As of 2017, Mongolia imported 0.6% of domestically consumed vegetables as frozen produce, equaling 700 tons of frozen vegetables (equivalent to 910 tons of fresh vegetables) The project assisted Gazar Shim in Ulaanbaatar and Khuvsgul Center in Khuvsgul aimag in the adoption of new food processing technology as a part of the project’s contribution to the development of importsubstitution products. The technology that was introduced is a flash-freezing technology, known as Individually Quick Frozen (IQF). 

The advantage of IQF is that produce retains their taste, smell, shape and nutritional value. It also allows greater product separation during freezing, preventing lump formation so that consumers can take whatever portion of the product they need without needing to defrost the entire product. The use of IQF in vegetable processing minimizes post-harvest loss by 10-15%. Most importantly, IQF provides for year-round consumption of nutritious, vitamin-rich vegetables, fruits and berries. The adoption of IQF technology in the vegetable sector resulted in the creation of 40 new jobs in the vegetable value chain.