Hopes are that Rooibos exports to the world’s largest consumer of tea could improve after South Africa’s biggest trading partner, China, relaxed import tariffs of the drink to 6% earlier this month.
Previously, tariffs on tea from South Africa were around 15% and higher.
Of the 20,000 tonnes of Rooibos annually produced, China ranks seventh among 45 countries importing the quintessential locally-made tea, the Rooibos Council has said.
The tariff reduction followed after South Africa led efforts at the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for a specific tariff code applicable only to rooibos tea.
“This decision will enable more rooibos tea to be available to Chinese tea drinkers, creating more jobs in South Africa,” said South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel.
He raised the issue during his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Weng Wentao, during the 8th China-South Africa Joint Economic Commission held in Pretoria in August last year and requested the reduction after the reclassification.
According to top Chinese tea supplier, Changsa Goodtea and trade data aggregator, Statista, China imports tea from various countries, but the top five import markets for tea in China are Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
In 2022, China imported approximately 41 400 metric tons of tea.
The largest drop in tea imports from Vietnam was 41.07%.
This indicates that China's tea imports are diversified, with significant quantities coming from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
