Agricultural merchant Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has announced the construction of new orange juice storage tanks in Matão, Brazil, which will increase production and storage capacity for not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice.
The new storage tanks are located in Brazil’s largest citrus producing region, in the state of São Paulo, and will bring LDC's storage capacity at the site to 30 million litres, and annual juice production capacity to 300 million litres.
They are expected to be operational by 2023, the company said in a statement.
'Growing Consumer Demand'
“Increasing production and storage capacity for NFC will allow us to meet growing consumer demand for this high value-added product, especially in Europe, while reinforcing our position among the top three global processors and merchandisers of orange juice,” commented Juan José Blanchard, head of LDC’s Juice Platform.
The investment is the 'second phase' in LDC's plans to expand the commercialisation of NFC juice in Europe, North America and Asia, the company said in a statement.
It follows on from an investment announced in 2020, in which the company announced a new juice transportation fleet, which boasts reduced fuel consumption and sulphur emission levels.
LDC also increased storage capacity by more than 50%, and blending capacity by more than 20%, at its port terminal and processing facility in Ghent, Belgium.
Fully-Integrated Operations
LDC has had operations in Matão since 1988. Its operations in the country are fully-integrated, comprising more than 25,000 hectares of citrus groves.
“This project also reinforces the company's commitment to long-term investment in Brazil, a key origination market for over 80 years,” added Jorge Costa, global operations director for LDC’s Juice Platform.
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