Anthony Formusa (left), CEO of National Produce Marketing Inc., and Anselmo Spad\u00e3o (right), manager of Cooperlim\u00e3o, at the Canadian company’s headquarters<\/p>
By Pedro Augusto<\/strong><\/p> The export of fresh lemons to Canada, still a relatively untapped market for Brazilian producers, has taken a significant step forward. Cooperlim\u00e3o, a cooperative based in Urup\u00eas, in the interior of S\u00e3o Paulo, has shipped a container with 24,000 kilograms of Tahiti lemons to Toronto following its participation in SIAL Canada, the largest food trade show in North America. Entry into the Canadian market marks a milestone in the cooperative\u2019s journey and reinforces the Brazilian presence in the fresh produce sector in the country.<\/p> The deal was signed with Toronto-based distributor National Produce Marketing Inc., after several rounds of conversations and business visits facilitated by an international trade mission organized by the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CCBC), in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA). Cooperlim\u00e3o\u2019s participation in the event was supported by OCESP (Organization of Cooperatives of the State of S\u00e3o Paulo) and the OCB System (Brazilian Cooperatives Organization).<\/p> During the event, held from April 29 to May 1, Cooperlim\u00e3o representatives engaged with 50 potential partners who visited the cooperative\u2019s booth. Of those, two progressed to more in-depth discussions, including invitations to visit Canadian companies\u2019 facilities. Twenty days after returning to Brazil, the cooperative signed an agreement with National Produce, which functions like a central supply hub in Canada. The second company interested in Brazilian lemons is waiting on the outcome of the first shipment before resuming negotiations.<\/p> \u201cWe shipped a container by sea for this first experience, as the logistics are quite unique even for us, despite our strong export activity,\u201d said Anselmo Spad\u00e3o, Cooperlim\u00e3o\u2019s manager. \u201cIf all goes well, we plan to send more lemon shipments to this client and also finalize a deal with the other company we visited in Canada,\u201d he added.<\/p> With 30 cooperative members, all lemon producers from the northwest region of S\u00e3o Paulo state, Cooperlim\u00e3o already exports regularly to Portugal, Spain, Germany, and Chile. However, shipping to Canada poses greater logistical challenges. Containers must be unloaded at the Port of New York in the United States and then transported by truck or train to Toronto, requiring a strict selection and preservation process for the fruit.<\/p> \u201cWe had to adapt the packaging, select lemons with thicker peels, apply a protective coating, and keep everything refrigerated throughout the journey\u2014this ensures quality even after nearly 30 days in transit,\u201d Spad\u00e3o explained.<\/p> The shipment to Canada was made under an open-price regime, a model similar to consignment. \u201cThe company pays a symbolic advance and the remainder is paid based on sales performance and product quality upon arrival,\u201d he noted.<\/p> The cargo was sold for approximately 8,160 Canadian dollars (about R$ 45,000), and the lemons are expected to arrive in Toronto by the end of June. If the product meets Canadian market expectations, both parties are likely to move forward with longer-term contracts.<\/p> Entry into Canada also presents an opportunity for Cooperlim\u00e3o to stand out from competitors such as Mexico, which currently supplies the majority of the local market. \u201cOur goal is to position our product a step above the Mexican offering,\u201d Spad\u00e3o concluded.<\/p> SIAL 2025 Overview<\/strong> In 2025, the Brazilian booth covered 60 square meters and hosted around 200 business meetings, resulting in an estimated US$11.4 million in commercial contracts expected to be closed over the next 12 months\u2014more than double the outcome recorded in 2024, which was US$5.48 million.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Partnership between Cooperlim\u00e3o and Canadian company is a direct result of SIAL 2025, a food trade show held in Montreal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":68596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[555,215,125,229,1965,584,209,227],"class_list":["post-68548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-ccbc","tag-brazil-canada","tag-business","tag-canada-en","tag-ccbc-en","tag-ccbc-50-anos-en","tag-comex-en","tag-innovation","tag-tecnologia-en"],"cp_meta_data":{"_wpml_word_count":["{\"total\":760,\"to_translate\":{\"fr\":760,\"pt-br\":760}}"],"_wp_old_date":["2025-04-26"],"_et_pb_use_builder":["off"],"_et_pb_old_content":[""],"_et_gb_content_width":["1080"],"footnotes":[""],"_et_monarch_override":[""],"sb_djhf_disable":["0"],"_et_post_bg_color":["#ffffff"],"_et_post_bg_layout":["light"],"_et_pb_show_title":["on"],"_et_pb_post_hide_nav":["default"],"_et_pb_page_layout":["et_no_sidebar"],"_et_pb_side_nav":["off"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["53"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["Reforma Tribut\u00e1ria"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Evento do Chapter MG reuniu empresas de minera\u00e7\u00e3o e do agroneg\u00f3cio para avaliar impactos nos neg\u00f3cios com o novo sistema em discuss\u00e3o no Congresso"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["56"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["5"],"_et_builder_dynamic_assets_loading_attr_threshold":["2"],"_wpml_location_migration_done":["1"],"_thumbnail_id":["68596"],"_edit_lock":["1750872280:55"],"_edit_last":["55"],"_encloseme":["1"]},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68548"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68548"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68612,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68548\/revisions\/68612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Cooperlim\u00e3o was one of more than 1,000 exhibitors from 77 countries at SIAL 2025. In total, the trade show attracted 21,000 registered buyers. The Brazil Pavilion was organized by the CCBC in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Brazilian Cooperatives Organization, and Invest Paran\u00e1. Altogether, 21 Brazilian companies took part in the trade mission, including six cooperatives and 14 companies from the state of Paran\u00e1, with full technical and logistical support throughout their preparation and participation.<\/p>