Citrosuco reaffirms investment in China

Citrosuco, the world's largest supplier of orange juice by market share, is committed to investing further in China, a market with tremendous potential for growth globally, the company's top executive said.

The potential comes from Chinese people's unique habit of consuming orange juice on various occasions and individuals' rising health needs, said Marcelo Abud, CEO of Sao Paulo-headquartered Citrosuco Group, during an exclusive interview with China Daily in Shanghai.

"We believe the future is in China. The growth rate of NFC (not from concentrate) orange juice market share in China has been 10 times faster than the average speed of other moderately growing countries these years," said Abud.

"While mature markets, such as the United States and Europe, are likely to decline in orange juice consumption, the China market is growing at an accelerated pace," he said.

Having invested in the country for two decades, the company established its first China office four years ago to increase the level of its investments significantly.

Investments also went into empowering local distribution channels as well as new tools and systems for cultivating markets and reaching consumers, among others.

Juice is often introduced onto Chinese tables for three meals and diversified social occasions as well, whereas in the West, it is usually consumed only during breakfast, said Abud.

People have also developed rising health awareness after the COVID-19 pandemic. "However, less than 10 percent of beverage consumers in China would currently choose to purchase orange juice. We still have abundant opportunities to increase market penetration," he said.

To cater to Chinese consumers' preference for orange juice, after setting up an R&D team for Chinese consumers specifically and a laboratory for Chinese tastes, the company has cultivated a different type of orange to meet consumer expectations with increased investments in farms in Brazil, said Abud.

Observing a Chinese as well as global trend where individuals are paying greater attention to sugar consumption, the company is also working on developing a low-sugar version of orange juice by joining hands with some Chinese enterprises.

John Lin, CEO of Citrosuco's business unit Evera, said that it has been collaborating intensively with Chinese biotech enterprises and research institutes, and the two countries are quite complementary in their advantages.

"For example, China and Brazil have different types of technologies to offer when it comes to agriculture. If we look at the downstream sectors, Brazil has the source of raw materials, while China has the conversion technology. Such a combination is fairly powerful," he said.

Evera was founded by the group two years ago to create natural orange-sourced ingredients that allow the food, beverages and fragrance industries to operate in a healthier and more sustainable manner.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil.

Augusto Pestana, consul-general of Brazil in Shanghai, said that at least hundreds of Brazilian enterprises are present in the China market, and that he looks forward to the next 50 years of even better development in bilateral relations.

"The Brazilian side will launch initiatives to make the country increasingly perceived by Chinese consumers not only as a big supplier of food products and others, but also for quality and diversity," he said.