Collection and processing of Acai into certified pulp and powder

Acai palms are indigenous to the Amazon River basin in north-western Brazil and eastern Bolivia. In Brazil, its fruit is processed into a nutritious pulp that is consumed locally and increasingly exported, to be sold in health food stores in Western Europe and the USA. Since its international recognition as a super-fruit (owing principally to its high antioxidant content), the demand for Acai pulp, both within Brazil and from international consumers, has exploded. The higher nutritious values of the Acai species Euterpe precatoria, predominant in the Bolivian Amazon (as against the Euterpe oleracea, found in the lower Amazon in Brazil) makes it even more attractive, but in spite of this, the exploitation of Acai from Bolivian forests is negligible. Due to its highly perishable nature, Acai must be processed at the source, and distributed through a well-established cold chain, to be exported. This is not currently done in Bolivia.

Pasan-VT Industrial Ltda from Brazil and Manutata S.A. from Bolivia will establish a joint venture to set up an Acai processing plant in Guarayos, 300 km north of Santa Cruz. Jointly, the partners will invest in the establishment of a new company dedicated to the processing, packing, cooled transport and international commercialisation of Acai pulp and Acai powder from the Euterpe precatoria.

The wild fruit will be collected from a 1,500 ha concession around Guarayos, and processed in a dedicated plant into frozen pasteurised pulp, or freeze-dried into powder, to be used as ingredient in a variety of industries. The plant will be ISO 22000 certified, to guarantee food safety. Additionally, the production chain, including the Acai supply will be certified according to the FairWild, Organic and Kosher standards.

The joint venture will create 98 direct jobs in the processing plants, and another 142 indirect jobs in the harvesting of wild Acai.