• Workers load a truck with stevia seedlings at a plantation in Santani, Paraguay. The leaves of the full-grown stevia are used to extract sweetener for food and beverages. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    Workers load a truck with stevia seedlings at a plantation in Santani, Paraguay. The leaves of the full-grown stevia are used to extract sweetener for food and beverages. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
  • Stevia seedlings in Santani, Paraguay. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    Stevia seedlings in Santani, Paraguay. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
  • Stevia plants at a plantation in Lima, Paraguay. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    Stevia plants at a plantation in Lima, Paraguay. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
  • A farmer holds harvested and dry stevia leaves in Lima. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    A farmer holds harvested and dry stevia leaves in Lima. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
  • Workers handle stevia seedlings in Santani. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    Workers handle stevia seedlings in Santani. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
  • The agricultural engineer Edgar Alvarez holds a stevia seedling in Santani. orge Adorno / Reuters
    The agricultural engineer Edgar Alvarez holds a stevia seedling in Santani. orge Adorno / Reuters
  • A farmer plants stevia seedlings in Lima. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    A farmer plants stevia seedlings in Lima. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
  • A woman holds crates with stevia seedlings in Santani. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    A woman holds crates with stevia seedlings in Santani. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
  • Workers prepare crates with stevia seedlings in Santani. Jorge Adorno / Reuters
    Workers prepare crates with stevia seedlings in Santani. Jorge Adorno / Reuters

Sweet taste of success for Peru – in pictures


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A recent study by Zenith International estimates sales of stevia, a plant from which natural sweeteners are made, will hit US$490 million this year, up from $304m in 2013. Peru is a major contributor to the approximately 5,500 tonnes expected to be produced worldwide in 2016.