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Über Brazilian Fruit Institute - IBRAF
The Brazilian Fruit Institute (IBRAF) is a private non-profitable organization that was founded in 1990 by leaders of the fruit farming sector to promote the organized growth of the sector, developing effective action for fruit farmers, processing farming industries, product suppliers, service suppliers, in short, the whole fruit farming chain.

Representing fruit agribusiness, the IBRAF works alongside governmental and non-governmental agencies to plan, organize and manage the business environment of the sector in order to make it increasingly more professional.

IBRAF operates as a network of its members and researchers all over Brazil and overseas, seeking to obtain relevant contributions to research from each. The institute has a specialized library on fruit farming, a data base of production and commercialization of fresh and processed fruit and also keeps a register of researchers, farmers, industries, suppliers of products and services, etc.

The Institute is well-known in Brazil and overseas as a provider of information and services for the fresh and processed fruit sector and is therefore always seeking to fill gaps in the productive chain and continuously make the sector a bigger driving force in the Brazilian economy in an organized manner.

Brazilian Fruit

To keep increasing export numbers and place Brazilian products on the international market, the IBRAF – Brazilian Fruit Institute, in partnership with APEX-Brasil – Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and sector trade associations, coordinates the Project to Promote Brazilian Fresh and Processed Fruit, which seek to consolidate the mark of origin “Brazilian Fruit” as a synonym of quality, excellence, professionalism, consistency, seriousness and reliability.

Currently, the Brazilian Fruit Project includes:

Fresh fruit: pineapples, avocado pears, Barbados cherries, bananas, kaki fruit, figs, guavas, oranges, apples, papayas, mangos, melons and watermelons, tangerines, grapes and fruit with kernels Processed fruit: pulps and juice, cashew nuts, coconut milk, etc. To prepare the productive sector for exports, the IBRAF has undertaken, in partnership with Sebrae-SP, the Paulista Fruit Project, which aims to prepare the sector for good farming practices and domestic and international marketing.

A sector with perspectives

Brazilian fruit farming, with professionalism and seriousness, seeks to meet the high level of requirements for quality and to comply with technical and fitosanitary of the export markets, making considerable efforts to increase exports and the agroindustrial export base.

Fruit farms today in Brazil are equipped with the latest technology with an aim to exporting by using plantation and harvesting methods approved by recognized international agencies.

The results of these efforts can be seen in the export numbers. In 2008, 888,000 tons of fresh fruits were exported corresponding to US$ 724 million. The main exported fruits were grapes, melon, mango, apple, lime and watermelon, all closed with positive balance. European Union remains the main purchaser for the Brazilian fruits, which represent 76% of the exports.

The processed fruits yielded US$ 2.4 billion. The main exported products were the orange juice and cashew nut, however, in respect to the growth, the tropical fruits juices and the not from concentrated orange-type juice (NFC) showed the best performance.