Come midsummer, when rooibos farmers begin to harvest their crop, they will be the first generation to grow and sell a tea with a unique regional status, a designation awarded to other such products as French champagne.
In June, rooibos tea became the first African product to get such status in the EU. Farmers and agricultural experts hope the EU's treatment of rooibos could help boost demand and improve the crop's profitability.
The shrubs are indigenous to a small area of the Western Cape and Northern Cape.
"We expect there to be a considerably bigger market so definitely we will expand now that there is more stability and economic viability," said Deon Zandberg, the "tea master" at marketing firm Cape Natural Tea Products.
About 70,000ha are under rooibos cultivation and the industry produces about 15,000t of rooibos annually, with half of that exported to countries such as Japan, Germany and the Netherlands.
There are about 350 commercial and 100 emerging rooibos farmers, who have battled through several years of dry conditions that have dented yields but driven up prices.
Industry officials are now working on getting similar protected designations of origin for rooibos from the World Trade Organisation.
"With more value it means farmers can invest more in sustainable farming," said South African Rooibos Council director Dawie de Villiers.
He hoped the EU nod would mean rooibos could be sold at a premium, much like champagne does among sparkling wines.
Reuters
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