Nourishing life, living a legacy.
In the 2020/2021 crop year (July 2020 to June 2021), world consumption of orange juice remained stable, with an upward trend in some markets due to the recognition of its health benefits during yet another year of pandemic. In Brazil, harvesting in the citrus belt was 21.6% lower, according to the Citriculture Defense Fund (FUNDECITRUS, for its initials in Portuguese), as a result of unfavorable weather conditions caused by drought. In this environment, Citrosuco, which uses the US dollar as its functional currency and is one of the world’s largest producers of orange juice, posted net revenue of US$1 billion and EBITDA of US$124 million, a 5.7% and 82.0% increase, respectively.
Net revenue
US$ 1.0 bi
Adjusted EBITDA
US$ 124.0 mi
Creation of an ESG Committee.
Citrosuco continued to execute its business strategy, with a focus on the long term, to innovate its product portfolio while investing to increase productivity and efficiency, develop markets, and anticipate the trends and needs of the global food market. During the year, the company solidified its new purpose, “Nourishing life, living a legacy,” applying it to all business relationships.
Citrosuco updated its internal technology platform through the expansion of internet infrastructure for the farms, process automation, and agricultural production data performance, increasing its internal fruit production. The company’s migration to digital citrus farming benefits the planet—one of the highlights was the increased efficiency in the use of natural resources.
Regarding the product portfolio, in addition to orange juice, the company continued to invest in the development of natural ingredients, following a worldwide trend of using natural raw materials in different industries, such as cosmetics and health, among others.
Citrosuco continued its sustainability journey through the consolidation of its sustainable business strategy and the definition of its commitments for 2030. Six material topics, with specific objectives, were prioritized: water, value chain, biodiversity, carbon, diversity, and social management.
As part of the climate agenda, Citrosuco maintains its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through an energy matrix that includes 60% renewable, energy, according to 2020 data, primarily biomass and wind power, the latter in partnership with Votorantim Energia. In addition, the company improved its CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) rating to B, which places it above the global average of the food and beverage segment.
Citrosuco invested more than R$2 million in positive intervention projects in the areas of education, public health, and citizenship in partnerships with local communities, governments, social organizations, and others. The company made progress in the area of diversity, equality, and inclusion by forming affinity groups with the goal of identifying opportunities to promote an increasingly diverse work environment. Citrosuco also revamped its early career programs, such as the Semear (Sowing) internship program—in 2021, 34% of the approved candidates were Black.
Also, as part of its business strategy, Citrosuco leads and supports the value chain of orange producers and suppliers. The Trilhar (Making a Path) program, an initiative that guides social and environmental practices in partnership with the supply chain, was intensified despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. Through the program, Citrosuco started to assess the properties of its partners and to work with them to plan the necessary improvements for responsible production. The company also increased its volume of sustainable supply, as attested by its SAI Platform certification, with approximately 70% of its production certified as sustainable. This important achievement confirms the public commitment Citrosuco made as part of the Sustainable Juice Covenant (SJC), the largest global initiative in the value chain to ensure that 100% of fruit supply is certified by 2030.
To strengthen the management of its 2030 strategy and commitments, Citrosuco created an ESG Committee, made up of managers representing the company’s entire value chain who are responsible for fostering the necessary transformations to meet its commitments by engaging customers, suppliers, local communities, and employees. As part of the execution of this strategy, the company also linked the variable compensation of the entire Executive Board and eligible leaders to ESG targets to accelerate the generation of shared value for the company and society.
Citrosuco’s results and initiatives are aligned with its purpose of “Nourishing life, living a legacy” and reflect its readiness to address the increasingly strict demands of the global food market in line with the evolution of social and environmental practices.
