Pectin is a gelling agent derived from fruit that can be used in jams, jellies, gummy sweets and drinks.
Farmesa said the plant will be located in the Tucuman province in the northwest of Argentina and its construction will take around 18 months to complete. It did not reveal how many jobs the factory would create or the plant's manufacturing capacity.
The additional output will serve the Buenos Aires-headquartered company’s customers in “high growth markets”, mostly in Latin America, Asia, Middle East, and Africa.
Pectin’s “strong product fundamentals” – namely its label-friendly, plant-based origin – put it in line with consumer trends for vegan, clean label additives, the company said.
The Tucuman plant will have the capacity to manufacture a range of pectin products suitable for different applications, including low-sugar foods, it added.
“Argentina's solid positioning in citrus processing helps cement the project's raw material [supply] for the production of pectins based mostly on lemon and orange,” a spokesperson for Farmesa told us.
According to figures from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Argentina was the third biggest producer of oranges in Latin America in 2017 with just over one million tons, behind Mexico (4.6m tons) and Brazil, the region’s number one (17.5m tons).
Farmesa, which was established over 60 years ago and is present in more than 40 countries, has a portfolio that includes texturizers, stabilizers, proteins, coatings, and flavors.
Last year, Cargill announced plans to invest US$150 million in a new pectin manufacturing facility in Brazil to meet growing market demand.
