just the facts – Citrosuco and Citrovita

Brazilian orange juice firms Citrosuco and Citrovita yesterday (17 May) announced they are to join forces in a deal that will create the world’s largest orange juice company. Here we take a closer look at the two firms.

• Citrosuco was created in 1963 with the union of Pasco Packing Company (a large juice processor in Florida), Eckes (an importer established in Germany) and Carl Fischer (a man with experience in citrus culture who owned groves and a packinghouse). Together they invested in the construction of the first processing plant to produce concentrate orange juice and byproducts, located in the city of Matão. In 1969, Fischer Group acquired Pasco’s shares and in 1992 took full control of Citrosuco by acquiring Eckes’ shares in the business.

• In 1982, through its Citrosuco division, the Fischer Group started a new stage in the Brazilian history of transportation and storage. It became one of the pioneers in the construction of an integrated system for bulk transportation for concentrate juice composed of tank farms for storage, export terminal in Santos, special vessels and terminal for the product distribution in Europe. This significantly increased the efficiency of logistical distribution of product to worldwide markets.

• In 1997 Citrosuco started processing oranges in the world’s second largest orange production country, the US, with the acquisition of a plant in Lake Wales, Florida.

• Citrosuco produces frozen concentrate orange juice, Tahiti lime juice and Murcott juice, not from concentrate orange juice, and orange pulp.

• Citrovita is global producer of orange juice concentrate, with participation of about 16% of the product market. The company exports to over 75 countries on five continents. In addition to juice, the firm produces industrialised orange by-products, such as essential oils and animal feed.
• Citrovita was founded in 1989 as one of the business units of the Votorantim Group. It began its activities with a production unit in Catanduva in the state of São Paulo and on its own orange grove in Itapetininga.

• Citrovita operates in all stages of production, from planting seedlings to the export of juice in specially equipped vessels. All their productive assets are located in the State of São Paulo: eight plants and more than 16 farms. The production capacity is 150m boxes of oranges per year, which corresponds to 600 thousand tons of juice.

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