SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s Rooibos Council (SARC) has pointed out that although Cederberg, the only part of the world where rooibos is commercially viable, has been hit by a series of storms in recent weeks, causing extensive damages, the fields in the area have largely remained unaffected.
“It’s no good planting new seedlings in waterlogged soil, which is unable to drain. Rooibos root systems are usually found at one meter deep so lower-lying fields with shallow soil levels and clay appearing at 60-80 cm deep are negatively affected by the flooding because the soil doesn’t drain well and the excess moisture then causes the plants to die,” Martin Bergh, chairperson of SARC.
“With more rain predicted for July, soil moisture levels should remain good, and farmers can still plant as late as August. More mature fields are also dependent on winter rain for growth. A balanced interplay between sun and rain ensures a stable and healthy Rooibos yield.”
Conversely, Bergh said the excessive recent rain is likely to benefit the higher-lying rooibos fields on the mountain slopes where deep, well-drained soil with low clay levels will lead to good growth once temperatures start to pick up.
Rooibos means “red bush” and is a broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae whose leaves are used to make herbal tea that is called rooibos, bush tea, red tea, or redbush tea. The plant goes by the scientific name Aspalathos linearis.
“The greatest challenge will be to control the explosion of weeds after this much rain, or else it becomes impossible to manage,” Bergh said.
Typical rainfall for the rooibos production area is 200 to 600 mm per year. Although attempts to grow rooibos outside of its home range have been made in Argentina, the USA, China, and Australia, SARC stated that none have succeeded.
As such, the European Commission has given rooibos the status of a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Geographical Indicator (GI) in the EU register. PDOs recognize the specificity of the country of origin of a product and transparency for consumers around its authenticity.
Consumer demand for South Africa’s distinctive herbal infusion has boomed since 2000. Now stakeholders will invest in proving its health benefits.
Marketing of rooibos tea in South Africa, the largest consumer of the beverage, involves a mix of channels such as supermarkets, specialty shops, direct marketing, and online.
South Africa’s rooibos tea is exported in packaged form or in bulk to at least 60 countries in Asia and Europe, such as Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Growing awareness of the potential health benefits of rooibos tea is expected to increase its popularity in South Africa and around the world on a long-term basis.
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