Barry Callebaut inaugurates first chocolate factory in South America

Barry Callebaut has inaugurated a new chocolate factory located in Extrema, Minas Gerais, near São Paulo, Brazil.

This is the company’s first chocolate factory in South America.

“Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world with a population of more than 190 million, and the country has returned much faster to its earlier growth dynamic than most other economies after the recent economic turmoil,” said CEO Juergen Steinemann.

“In addition, the Brazilian Government as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are expecting a GDP growth of up to 6% for 2010.”

“Against this background and based on growth forecasts for the Latin American chocolate market of more than 3% in volume terms by Euromonitor International annually over the next three years, we see a tremendous market potential – not only in Brazil but in the entire region.”

The new chocolate factory in Extrema has been designed to meet the highest quality and food safety standards and has an annual production capacity of around 20,000 tonnes which can be doubled based on the same infrastructure.

The total investment amounted to approximately $15 million.