Chinese Joint Venture Begins Production Of Beverages Sweetened With GLG’s Stevia Extract

Canadian stevia extract producer GLG Life Tech Corporation says that its joint venture partner China and Healthy Foods Company Limited (CAHFC) has begun production of four all natural stevia-sweetened beverages under the ANOC brand name in China. The production line is capable of producing 108 million 500 ml servings a year, and is starting with green tea, black tea, peach juice and orange juice products. Key Chinese government objectives in participating in the joint venture are to show that a rural farming region such as Xioagang can support a strong farming economy and that industrial development will increase economic prosperity in a rural region. According to GLG, China’s food and beverage industry has grown 20 percent a year from 2002 to 2009, when it was valued at $693 billion.