Thursday March 30th, 2023

With annual exports of more than 16 million tons of mangoes and two million tons of grapes, Ibacem is a true success story. The family business was founded in 1986 in the city of Juazeiro, located in the Brazilian state of Bahia. It is currently a modern producer, which takes our fruits to countries such as Japan and the United Arab Emirates, and one of the leaders when it comes to quality and sustainability in production processes.

The brand which participates in the Frutas do Brasil project — the export program of the Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruit and Derivatives (Abrafrutas), with the support from the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) — went through a reformulation in the 2000s. The company’s command, which previously belonged to Nelson Costa, went to his sons: Nelson Cabral da Costa Filho and Frederico Cabral da Costa.

With its own production area and partnerships with local producers, the company has two grape packing houses, which process 7,500 tons per year for export and for the Brazilian market. There is also a mango packing house with a daily processing capacity of 300 tons. The space is equipped with a classification structure, hydrothermal treatment for export, cooling tunnels and cold chambers that allow the traceability of its products.

Sustainability is an essential value for Ibacem, which uses clean and renewable energy in all its production processes, thanks to photovoltaic plants installed on the farms. The company is certified by Imaflora, which certifies that its carbon balance is negative.

According to Diogo Santos, commercial manager for the internal and external market, one of the company’s competitive advantages are the values ​​under which it was built. “Feeding people with tasty and healthy fruits, developing employees and respecting society and the environment”, he explains.

Ibacem is so alcertified by several other important seals, such as SEDEX, Walmart, Rainforest, Fairtrade International, Fairtrade Certified, Fundação Abrinq, SMETA, Sabor eQualidade.

About Frutas do Brasil

Abrafrutas (Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Derivatives), in partnership with ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), develops a project to support Brazilian exporters in their quest to expand their business; opening new markets; recognition and differentiation of Brazilian fruits; increase the healthy habit of consuming tasty and superior quality fruits. Since the project started in 2014, Frutas do Brasil aims to show that Brazil is a provider of quality fruits produced in a sustainable way.

About Abrafrutas

The Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruit and Derivatives (Abrafrutas) is a non-profit association whose purpose is to represent and promote Brazilian fruit growing in the international market. Created in 2014, Abrafrutas has approximately 70 associated fruit exporters and holds approximately 85% of the total volume of fresh fruit exported by Brazil.