Brazil

We established a Brazilian business in 2002 and have expanded our operations into coffee, cocoa and spices to reflect our changing customer needs in the region and our growing expertise.

Growing Responsibly 

Our employees are actively involved with community programmes focused on promoting child welfare, education and health. We have joined various industry bodies to further the cause for sustainable economic development, such as CECAFE (Coffee) and AIPC Cocoa Processors Association (AIPC). 

Cocoa

Much of the cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and cocoa powder enjoyed around the world comes from our operations in Ilhéus, Itabuna and Altamira. Joanes is our acclaimed brand produced for the Latin American Food Ingredients industry.

Customers from across South America have the opportunity to work with our team at our Ilhéus Innovation centre, collaborating on product development, proof of concept, and refining existing application recipes.

Coffee

We are one of the top three coffee exporters in Brazil. Our main office is in Santos, supported by 15 other locations including estates and offices. We are both easy to access and have a broad on the ground presence all year round.

We supply locally grown roast, ground and soluble coffee to international customers in the USA, Europe, Middle East and Japan.

At our fully integrated Milano coffee estate in Western Bahia, we produce premium Arabica coffee. The plantation is CAS – 4C Code of Conduct compliant and certified by Rainforest Alliance and UTZ. In addition, we procure large volumes of differentiated and certified coffees from growers, working closely with agri-input companies to help deliver a quality service to the farmers.

Our coffee portfolio also includes specialty coffee – a niche but growing sector. We have a Q certified laboratory recognised as a SAC Premier Training Campus by Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).

Spices

We are one of the largest importers of spices into Brazil. We import paprika, chilli, turmeric, garlic, and cumin, as well as dehydrated vegetables such as onion and garlic from the USA, Egypt, India, and China. Recently, we developed a pepper plantation in Bahia State. 

Cocoa

Coffee

Spices

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Press Release Dec 19, 2024

ofi's cocoa business ‘raises regenerative agriculture ambition’ with new 2030 targets

ofi (olam food ingredients), a global leader in naturally good food and beverage ingredients and food solutions, is further enhancing efforts to tackle deforestation and drive regenerative agriculture by achieving seven landscape partnerships and bringing over a million hectares under regenerative agriculture by 2030.

These new targets align with ofi’s company-wide Choices for Change strategy and will be further boosted by the cocoa business’ tree carbon stock target of 15 million trees by 2030, converting as many farms as possible to agroforestry.

This announcement coincides with the release of ofi’s 2023 Cocoa Compass Impact Report, which shares the latest sustainability progress from across its cocoa supply chain and builds on the steps taken to protect and restore cocoa landscapes.

Regenerative agriculture highlights since the launch of the Cocoa Compass in 2018 include:

8.9 million trees distributed for agroforestry programs by ofi cocoa, working with customers and partners
57,000 hectares of land rehabilitated globally
970,000 farmers trained in Good Agricultural Practices

Articles Dec 5, 2024

Partnerships for more inclusive coffee communities

Promoting gender equality and inclusion has always been a core component of ofi’s sustainability programs to help women and other underrepresented groups realize their potential. Our approach is centred around identifying opportunities for better inclusion of women and youth in farming communities and providing tailored support designed to build confidence, motivation and financial autonomy.

This is why, as part of our Coffee LENS ambition we’ve set dedicated targets to deliver livelihood support to 60,000 women and 15,000 youth by 2030. Our origin teams are running impactful partnerships with our customers to create positive change in coffee communities and deliver our mutual goals.

Articles Dec 5, 2024

A living landscape partnership promoting sustainable forest management in Côte d’Ivoire

The Cavally region in Côte d’Ivoire, one of the country’s main forested areas and home to protected areas such as the Taï National Park (UNESCO), has lost more than 80% of its forest cover in the last decades which has been mainly attributed to coffee and cocoa production. In January 2023, ofi launched a three-year ‘Sustainable Forest Management’ program with IDH and customer JDE Peets, to conserve forest resources and promote sustainable coffee production in the region, referred to as the “ecological lung of Côte d’Ivoire” by the 4th vice-president of the Cavally Regional Council. At a time when coffee production is reviving in the region in response to higher global prices, the partnership is working to reduce pressure on the Taï National Park and Cavally nature reserve while improving incomes in the surrounding communities.

“At JDE Peet’s, we are committed to fostering a sustainable future for coffee by embracing origin diversity and strengthening our footprint in Africa. This project in the Cavally region is a significant step towards protecting vital ecosystems like the Taï National Park while promoting sustainable coffee production. By working together with our partners, we aim to create an environment where both nature and communities can thrive for generations to come.” - Judith de Boer, Global Green Coffee Partnership Program Lead, JDE Peet’s

The partnership is focused on sustainable agricultural production and social inclusion and in its first year delivered:

25,000 shade trees to mark farm boundaries, reforestation and creation of agroforestry systems.
Training to ~3,400 farmers on good agricultural practices integrated farm management, water protection, ecosystem conservation, and forest protection through 18 ‘trained trainers’
52 forest stewards from trained youths to contribute to the protection and preservation of the classified forest through patrols
Entrepreneurial opportunities for 750 women through establishing 20 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and training on creating biochar from cherry husks for additional income and firewood replacement
950,000 coffee saplings distributed to 2,800 farmers to contribute to the renewal of aging coffee farms.

“The main objective of the project is to ensure that the revival of coffee production in the Cavally region does not come at the expense of the forest cover and sustainable development, as it happened in the past. We are particularly delighted that this resonates with a partner like ofi ” - Matthew Spencer, IDH Global Director, Landscapes

This project is contributing to ofi’s overarching target to establish 20 living landscape partnerships across our global supply chains by 2030, with 6 of these established in coffee supply chains, as set out in our Coffee LENS strategy.

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