Orange juice, a staple of so many breakfast tables around the world, begins its journey in Brazil. LDC owns approximately 30,000 hectares of citrus groves in the country, as well as several processing and logistics facilities.

LDC is one of the world’s three largest juice producers. Our success in this sector, over more than 25 years, is due to a combination of our extensive asset network together with the skills and expertise of our people.

Our integrated supply network in key locations means we can grow, process, transport, store, and distribute juice. LDC’s Juice Platform is responsible for approximately 15% of all orange flows around the world.

Once juice has been processed in our facilities in Brazil, it is transported to our terminal in Santos. From there it sails to our Ghent terminal. The Group relies on three vessels to transport juice between these two terminals, making sure volumes meet the needs of customers in Europe and other regions of the world. Both terminals are capable of handling frozen concentrate orange juice (FCOJ) and not from concentrate orange juice (NFC) in bulk and drums. On arrival in Belgium, juice is stored in temperature-controlled silos at our storage facilities, which are among the biggest in the world.

The Ghent terminal employs more than 35 people. Our local quality assurance and safety, health and environment (SHE) teams ensure we strictly adhere to all applicable regulations and safety standards - including those needed for ISO certification.

LDC’s Juice terminal in Ghent, Belgium is certified by the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) and applies the principles outlined by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). The ETI Base Code is founded on the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and is an internationally recognized code for labor practice standards.

Facts & figures

LDC’s strengths in Juice production and transportation

• One of the world’s three largest orange juice producers
• 39 farms spread across the ‘Citrus Belt’ region, which extends across the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais
• 4 processing plants in Brazil
• 2 logistic terminals, in Ghent, Belgium, and Santos, Brazil
• 3 customized vessels for orange juice bulk transportation from Santos to Ghent
• Responsible for approximately 15% of orange flows around the world

About LDC’s Ghent terminal

• Built in 1999
• First vessel unloaded in 2000
• Expansion completed in 2009

Supply

Almost 100% of LDC’s orange juice (both NFC and FCOJ) comes from Santos.

Demand

LDC Belgium delivered shipments to more than 125 different countries across the globe in 2015.

Working safely and ethically

LDC’s vision is to create a safe work environment wherever we operate around the world, to ensure our people return home safely and without injury, every day. At LDC Belgium, we believe people are our most valuable asset. So we take great pride in making sure our working environment, and overall labor conditions, are aligned with Group standards and compliant with industry best practice.

We have invested greatly in creating a safe environment for our employees, and constantly work to improve it by managing the risk associated with our asset’s activities. LDC Belgium also invests in a variety of Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) projects, to make sure we continuously strengthen safety conditions at our facilities.

In line with LDC’s safety philosophy, we believe each of us plays a key role in creating a safe work environment. This is why we train and encourage our people to respect and follow the Group’s safety principles. LDC’s annual Global Safety Day event, held at all the Group’s assets around the world, is one of the ways in which LDC encourages a proactive safety culture. It focuses on high risk activities at our sites and raises awareness among employees.

Creating a more sustainable
business model

We are a global business and acknowledge our responsibility to minimize the impact of our activities on local communities and on the environment. With its considerable size and reach, the Juice Platform is central to the Group’s sustainability strategy.

With up to 10 000 people working for the Juice Platform at peak season, the Group strives to ensure our standards exceed national labor regulations. All employees, including seasonal pickers, go through mandatory training to ensure they adopt industry best practice in safety and sustainability.

No part of the fruit is wasted, making our juice production inherently environmentally sustainable. Any residue extracted from the production of fruit juice is used as an ingredient in various food products, perfume, cosmetics, cattle feed, and chemicals.

Additionally, we are taking steps to ensure we can measure and improve our environmental impact throughout the juice production process. This includes particular focus on our carbon footprint, water usage, and generated waste.

Challenges from consumer demand

While the environmental impact of FCOJ transporting is inferior to that of NFC transporting, the demand for NFC juice continues to grow, making it increasingly difficult to reduce our logistics carbon footprint. This is just one example of the challenges we face in establishing sustainable practices in our industry. However, LDC remains committed to ensuring the highest possible level of sustainable operations, and we continue to seek ways of counterbalancing this effect. To learn more about LDC’s sustainability efforts in juice, please see our Juice Sustainability Report.

Careers with LDC

We believe investing in our people is important, and that nurturing a culture that effectively identifies and manages talent globally is essential to our success. Our business is supported by a number of different roles, all of which contribute to the success of the organization.

Why work with us

As LDC continues to grow and face new challenges in the industry, it has never been so important to attract, develop and retain talented people. The Group invests in training and further education through a number of programs and initiatives to support our employees in reaching their full potential. Additionally, we reward hard work and offer a competitive compensation package that grows with our employees throughout their career at LDC.