Ledesma founded an Essential Oils Factory in Jujuy
Based in Jujuy, the company is the largest oranges producer and exporter in Argentina. It has incorporated 200 hectares of lemon crops to supply its new factory of natural derivatives extraction. This means an investment exceeding 8 million dollars.
Ledesma is expanding its fruit and juice business, and today it is moving forward in that sense. In Libertador General San Martín (Jujuy Province), the company has founded a factory which will increase at least 50 per cent of its essential oil production.
The new factory is equipped with the most efficient and state-of-the-art technology for oil extraction worldwide, and is part of an optimization and growing plan of Ledesma´s high impact Fruit and Juice Business Unit. Therefore, Ledesma has invested 8 million dollars in Jujuy, which include, apart from the new factory, 200 hectares of new lemon crops.
In the formal opening, Javier Goñi, Ledesma CEO said: “This new factory is the way in which Ledesma keeps on contributing to Argentina´s increased competitiveness”. He also highlighted the importance of the balance between production and the environment, and he also mentioned that Ledesma preserves 100,000 hectares of native forests in Jujuy.
Ledesma employs almost 2,500 people in the provinces of Jujuy and Salta within its unit of fruit, juice and essential oils production.
Essential oils are used as essences and to flavor spirits. In 2017, Ledesma produced 270 tons of essential oils, distributed in 130 tons of essential oil of oranges, 40 tons of essential oil of grapefruits and 100 tons of essential oil of lemons.
Added to this, during last year, Ledesma produced 105,071 tons of citrus in the province of Jujuy and Salta, where it has 3,000 hectares of fruit crops. 66% of the total production were oranges (69,721 tons), and the rest was distributed equally among grapefruits (18,271 tons) and lemons (17,079 tons).
In regard to exports, the main destination is the European Union (Spain, Netherlands, Italy) and in a lower proportion Russia and Uruguay. In the domestic market, Ledesma supplies the Central Market Customers and the markets located in the suburbs of the province of Buenos Aires, and different clients and supermarkets located in different Argentine provinces.
In 2017, Ledesma processed 90,600 tons of citrus to produce almost 7,000 tons of juice. Juice production breakdown is 3,100 tons of orange juice concentrate, 2,100 tons of grapefruit juice concentrate and almost 1,700 tons of lemon juice concentrate.
About Ledesma
Founded in 1908 as a sugarcane mill in Jujuy, Ledesma is an Argentine agro-industrial company that employs almost 8,000 people and leads the domestic marketplace of sugar and paper which is produced from sugar cane. It is also the main local producer and exporter of oranges and grapefruits. It has a corn wet-milling business in San Luis and produces meat and cereals in Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos.
Within the Fruit and Juice Business Unit, Ledesma has 3,000 hectares in crops, a tree nursery of its own and three factories of fresh fruit packing, juice and essential oil extraction production.
With a long-term vision, the company is constantly investing in innovating and implementing state-of-the-art technology, therefore adding value to through the integration of its activities, and as a result, it balances economic growth with social progress and environmental practices in the communities where it operates.
