Tea industry hurt by imports

AS SHE strains tea leaves into miniature rose-gold-plated glass tea cups, the aroma of lemongrass and red honeybush fills the air at Yswara Tea Room at the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg.

“Our teas are crushed, handrolled and sun dried, while mass market teas are an aggregation of other teas from many farms,” said founder and owner Swaady Martin-Leke.

But the fragrant flavours of one of the fastest-growing African luxury tea brands, which is in its fifth year of operation, may be part of the bigger story of the demise of South Africa’s black tea production.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the gross value of the production of black tea has plummeted from R30.14million about eight years ago to R5.16-million in the 2016-17 period.

The department said there were only two tea growers out of seven estates producing tea, due to less competitiveness with other tea-producing countries, high production costs and low market prices for black tea as a US dollar-traded commodity.

Yashvir Maharaj, research director at market research company Insight Survey, said South African black tea production had been declining for several years, to 1 774 tons in 2014-15.

“It’s cheaper to import black tea from China and India than it is to produce tea in South Africa because they produce tea in massive volumes,” said Maharaj.

But the tea estates, which used to be major employers in the rural provinces, providing permanent and seasonal employment, have been hurt.

A report last year by the agriculture department on the South African black tea market value chain recorded that Tshivhase and Mukumbani tea estates employed on average about 257 people between 2015 and last year.

Ntingwe Tea Estate has fewer than 200 permanent staff and 200 seasonal workers, with total employment expected to decline further to about 200 at full production.

Maharaj said that while black tea was under threat, rooibos and honeybush tea were on a strong growth trajectory.

“That’s where the future of the South African industry lies, in terms of competing in unique, niche areas where we are the only producers of these types of teas in the world.”

South African Rooibos Council spokesman Ernest du Toit said because of demand, “rooibos is more expensive than tea. We believe this trend is going to continue because while ordinary tea has some health benefits, it has been made clear that rooibos and honeybush have far more”.

According to data by market research provider Euromonitor, the off-trade volume in traditional black tea declined by 3% last year, driven by economic constraints and rising unit prices. — DDC