Domestic production of stevia took a step ahead this July as Paraguay Productivo made 2 key contracts to expand the business with WMD and with Granular Paraguay SRL.

Stevia is a normal, calorie-free sweetener, indigenous to Paraguay, and has all the time been consumed there. Other markets and Japan have adopted in recent years as a strong substitute to sugar and simulated sweeteners in Japan, Diet Coke is created with stevia instead of Nutrasweet or Splenda. It is gaining popularity in the U.S. market, amid concerns about the health risks of artificial no-calorie alternatives. In year 2008, the FDA permitted stevia as safe for consumption after Cargill and Coca-Cola began to consider stevia products. Mintel (market research leader) anticipates the stevia market to surpass $ 2bn in year 2011.

In Paraguay, the project’s affiliation with ADM (Archer Daniels Midland), the United States based agribusiness multinational (and a competitor of Cargill), will encourage the production of stevia as a source of earnings for small farmers. ADM will purchase their crop and assists them to get loans. Because stevia is a labor-intensive crop, this support will help a large number of farmers.

Granular, a Swedish firm specialized in the global marketing of steviol glycosides (the compound that makes the sweet stevia). Through its affiliation with Paraguay Productivo, the company will arbitrate the export of steviol glycosides to the United States. By launching themselves in the global stevia market, local producers will be able to spread their crops and boost revenue.