International Stevia Council

CAPASTE, Paraguay’s Most Influential Voice for Local Stevia Industry, Joins International Stevia Council

For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Peterson
media@internationalsteviacouncil.org
+1 678 303 2968

CAPASTE, Paraguay’s Most Influential Voice for Local Stevia Industry, Joins International Stevia Council

PARAGUAY (4 October 2016) – In a strong show of support for the global Stevia industry, the Paraguayan Stevia Chamber (CAPASTE) has joined the International Stevia Council (ISC) as a member. ISC represents the interests of Stevia leaf growers, extract producers and manufacturers around the world. As a leading voice of Stevia growers in South America, CAPASTE’s decision to join ISC represents closer collaboration to the mutual benefit of farmers in that region and of global refiners of high purity stevia extracts sourcing leaves from that region.

“Paraguay and its South American neighbors are at the heart of the Stevia leaves agricultural industry, so it is important for those farmers to have a voice within the ISC,” said Adriana Nosewicz, ISC Regulatory Affairs Manager. “It is similarly relevant for producers of stevia leaf extracts and for users of stevia as an ingredient to share knowledge and know-how within an industry platform such as the ISC.”

CAPASTE’s joining of ISC follows a successful International Stevia Symposium in Paraguay, the 9th that CAPASTE has organized in Paraguay in the past years. Stevia as an ingredient has surged in recent years, largely because of close collaboration between leaf growers, including those from South America, and global extract producers. At the symposium, ISC representatives addressed local government officials and growers to discuss the growing market. ISC estimates potential global market growth of high purity stevia extracts topping $10 billion USD over the next two decades. This represents  $3 billion to $4 billion USD of stevia agricultural opportunity, with South America, with Paraguay reaping many of the benefits and a potential of up to $2 billion USD.

CAPASTE representatives said such insight and collaboration with ISC will help inform the decisions of local farmers and authorities.

''The players in the supply chain of Paraguay and the Central and South American regions in which Stevia is cultivated are convinced that Stevia has entered the world to stay permanently, although they recognize that much is still to be done in relation to the impact on public policy in order to ensure that the governments in both American continents acquire sufficient information on the benefits of Stevia,” said Juan Barboza, CAPASTE President. “The Stevia plant is a wonderful and ancestral plant originally from Paraguay; its cultivation enhances social and economic development of local family farmers. Stevia perfectly fits the current trend of consuming natural, healthy and sustainable food and helps calorie reduction, thus reducing the alarming rates of obesity, diabetes and other related diseases.''

The ISC continues to support the stevia industry at all levels. To learn more about the ISC and its members, visit www.internationalsteviacouncil.org.


About the International Stevia Council

The International Stevia Council (ISC) is the authoritative voice of the stevia industry, representing stevia leaf growers and producers, stevia extracts producers and users of stevia extracts in final consumer producers. ISC activities aim at promoting the use of stevia as a naturally-sourced zero-calorie sweetener so as to improve the diets and health of people globally by moderating calories in food. The ISC is a 501 (c) (6) not-for-profit global organization incorporated under the law of the State of Delaware in the United States (US). http://www.internationalsteviacouncil.org/

 

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