Sustainable and Ethical Tea Trade and Value Chains in South Africa

In celebration of International Tea Day, it is important that consumers, businesses, and policymakers around the world continue supporting ethical and sustainable choices in the tea they drink.

South Africa is the third most biodiverse country in the world. This rich biodiversity offers a strong foundation for promoting and leveraging the country’s natural treasures through biotrade. To date, several of South Africa’s genetic resources have been successfully commercialised in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and beverage sectors

In the beverage market, particularly in herbal teas South Africa’s indigenous plants such as rooibos, honeybush, and buchu have gained international recognition with exports to European Union, China and north America. Approximately 6 500 tons of rooibos are now exported to thirty countries each year, although the industry has the capacity, in a good year, to produce 18 000 tons (SARC, 2018) [1].

GIZ implemented projects Access Benefit Sharing (ABS) Compliant Biotrade in Southern Africa (ABioSA) and BioInnovation Africa (BIA) have been instrumental in developing sustainable and ethical value chains for these indigenous herbal teas. These projects collaborate with private and public stakeholders to enhance sustainability, ensure compliance with international standards, and promote ethical sourcing practices.

Rooibos

Rooibos represents one of South Africa’s oldest and most successful indigenous natural product industries. Known for its reddish hue and distinct flavour, rooibos provides multiple health benefits and is rich in complex and abundant blend of antioxidants[2]. This caffeine-free tea drink was in May 2021 included in the EU register as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), which is a significant achievement for the South African Rooibos industry.

Under the BIA project, partnerships have been established with the South African Rooibos Council, the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT), and the German company MartinBauer. This collaboration supports the rooibos industry in aligning with the UEBT/Rainforest Alliance Herbs and Spices Programme, aiming to strengthen sustainability practices and meet EU due diligence requirements for market access.

Ethically sourced Rooibos offers an opportunity to effectively contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of South Africa’s rich biodiversity and support the wellbeing and sustainability of local farmers and farmer communities involved in Rooibos on environmental, social and economic levels

Honeybush

Honeybush is an indigenous fynbos crop with a delightful taste and recognised health benefits. Around 53% of honeybush tea is sourced through wild harvesting, with ongoing initiatives to engage small and emerging farmers in cultivation [3].

In the honeybush sector, the BIA project works with companies such as Simon Lévelt BV, Grounded Ingredients BV, and Commonland SA: Grounded Management South Africa to enhance sustainable sourcing, harvesting, and certification readiness. Under ABioSA, financial support has also been provided to the South African Honeybush Tea Association to implement the Honeybush Sector Development Plan and strengthen the industry’s growth and resilience. ABioSA project has provided financial support to Agulhas Honeybush Tea for ABS compliance, improvement/upgrade of marketing materials and website, attendance of 2024 Biofach trade show and development of Quality Management System to improve the company business processes.

Buchu

Buchu, an indigenous plant endemic to South Africa’s Western Cape, is primarily processed into essential oils for the flavor and fragrance industries, and also as a dried herbal infusion.

Through the Buchu Sector Development Plan, ABioSA is providing support to the Buchu Association for generic marketing and to access new marketsUnder the BIA project, collaboration with the International Organization of the Flavor Industry (IOFI), the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), the South African Association of the Flavour and Fragrance Industry (SAAFFI), and the Buchu Association is fostering industry-wide compliance with Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) regulations. This agreement is only the second of its kind globally and demonstrates a strong commitment to equitable partnerships that respect traditional knowledge and benefit all value chain actors.

ABioSA has provided financial and technical support to market ready and emerging SMMEs that produce herbal teas using indigenous plants that are still being introduced into the local and international market. Setšong tea is one of the new herbal tea that is emerging in the market. Setsͮong tea has identified two tea plants that grow in the natural landscape of the Sekhukhune district, Limpopo. The Diya - red root tea which contains beta-carotene, zinc, fiber and tepane - black bush tea which contains Vitamin A, C, E, Zinc. The project first phase setsͮong tea was financially supported with marketing, ABS compliance and community indigenous knowledge system workshops and Accreditation standard operation procedures (SOPs, HACCP & SAOSO).

These initiatives underscore a broader commitment to inclusive economic growth, environmental stewardship, and the recognition of traditional knowledge holders.

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References:

[1]https://groundedingredients.com/.

[2]https://sarooibos.co.za/health-facts/

[3] https://sahta.co.za/industry/facts-statistics/

Photo Credit: GIZ/ABioSA/Brett Eloff and Jonathon Rees 

Written by:  Amanda Nyingwa and Serole Mketsu - Technical Advisors: BioInnovation Africa and ABS Compliant Value Chains in South(ern) Africa (ABioSA)

ABioSA and BIA are part of the Centre for Cooperation with the Private Sector (CCPS) which was established at the beginning of 2014 to coordinate the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) South Africa’s strategy for cooperation with the private sector.