Only two out of the 43 canning factories in Azerbaijan are operating, and they produce primarily tomato paste, natural fruit juices, and apple concentrate. The Guba Tinning Factory, located in Guba town, is one of the two remaining operating factories. Given reduced domestic demand and the initial re-opening of Russian and Turkish export markets, Azeri canneries do not work to full capacity, and their equipment is outdated and in dire need of replacement. Azeri canneries continue to use glass jars and bottles instead of plastic containers or tetrapaks that are less susceptible to damage in transit, have greater shelf life, and store better. For development of this sector, Azerbaijan needs the establishment of service structures and processing plants for packaging, preservation and transportation of fruits and vegetables. Based on market research of the U.S. Embassy Commercial Service, the largest canning and packaging opportunities lie in tomato paste, apple juice and other natural fruit juices. Azerbaijan seeks about $20 million in investment in this sector, however there are niche supplier opportunities available now with selected Azeri importers. There are two major processing areas in Azerbaijan: the northern region of Guba for fruits and the southern region of Lankaran for citrus fruits and vegetables. As crops are seasonal, the two operating canneries can process more than one type of crop. One such canning facility is the Guba Canning Factory, which was privatized in 1991 and turned into the "NABRAN" Joint Stock Company. "NABRAN" uses modern technology for producing juice in Tetrapak sterile, long life containers. These juices are then sold in various upscale Azeri food store under the brand name "SAF" with an extended shelf life. "SAF" juices are also exported to CIS countries and markets as far away as Texas, New York and California. "NABRAN" produces "SAF" brand products including jam, salads, and pickles. The packaging, however, is in glass jars, which makes exporting of these tasty products beyond NIS countries challenging and expensive. Located in Guba town, which is famous for its apples, "NABRAN" can process 200-250 tons of apples daily. Azerbaijan does not produce food processing and packaging equipment. Recently, "NABRAN" Company has imported new processing equipment from Yugoslavia, two pressing machines from Austria, and juice aseptic containers from Finland and Austria. Azerbaijan imports most of its food processing equipment from CIS countries, primarily from Russia, as well as from other European countries - the U.K., Turkey, Germany, Austria, Holland, Italy, etc. Small companies sell their products on the street and arrange door-to-door delivery, which many Azeri homemakers find very convenient. Affluent Azerbaijanis and foreigners prefer to buy meat and dairy products at specialized western type supermarkets, like Ramstore, Citimart, Continental, etc. The majority of fruit and vegetable processing enterprises sell their produce at open-air markets. "NABRAN" is an exception. Since 1985, it exports 100% of its apple concentrate to Germany. It also exports jam and pickles to Russia and Israel. The rest of its processed fruits and vegetables line is sold to specialized shops in Azerbaijan via its exclusive distributor Victory Ltd. "Taimex", a multi-profile company, in addition to Baku and Sumgait, supplies various regions of Azerbaijan with the dairy products and tomato paste.