MEDIA STATEMENT: EASTERN CAPE LAUNCHES STRATEGY TO BOOST NATURAL INGREDIENTS EXPORTS BY 25%

25 August 2025 

The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), in partnership with the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), has officially launched the Eastern Cape Natural Ingredients Export Promotion Strategy. This initiative aims to increase the province’s natural ingredient exports by 25% over the next three years — from R4,2 million to R5,25 million.

The strategy outlines a focused plan to support Eastern Cape producers by enabling entry into at least five new international markets, securing a minimum of 15 new product certifications, and engaging and training over 100 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the export value chain.

Target export markets include North America — particularly the United States and Canada — as well as the United Kingdom, Europe, and Switzerland, where demand for organic and sustainable products continues to grow. Additionally, the strategy identifies strong opportunities in Asia, driven by rising consumer interest in health and wellness. Key Asian markets include Japan, China, South Korea, and India.

“The strategy is designed to boost the export of natural ingredients from the Eastern Cape by identifying international opportunities, positioning local producers as global suppliers, and helping them overcome market access barriers. The Eastern Cape’s natural ingredients include aloe ferox, honeybush, rosemary, hemp, rose geranium, artemisia afra, African sage, and honey, among others.”

“Despite the province’s abundance of natural ingredients, the sector has not been sufficiently developed for export. We recognised the gap and partnered with SIPPO — which promotes natural ingredient and processed food imports from South Africa to Switzerland and the European Union — to formulate a comprehensive export strategy. The first step was to map the existing landscape: which products are available, who is exporting, what markets they’re targeting, and what challenges they face. This informed the strategy we are launching today,” says Linda Lubengu, ECDC Trade Promotion Specialist.

The development process involved consultations with a range of stakeholders, including the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), South African export councils, the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture.

For the 2025/26 financial year, the focus will be on a province-wide mapping exercise to better understand the needs of producers, provide market intelligence, and prepare them for export readiness. Once this groundwork is completed, producers will be supported in promoting their products in selected international markets.

“The Eastern Cape is home to a wealth of botanical resources with innovative applications across industries such as cosmetics, skincare, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and traditional medicine,” says Lubengu. “Many of these plants are sustainably harvested from the wild and have transitioned into the formal economy, proving their value and quality on larger platforms.”

She adds that international trends toward alternative and natural health remedies — especially in cosmetics and healthcare — present a timely opportunity for the Eastern Cape to expand its exports of natural products. The province’s unique ecosystems and biodiversity offer high-value, sustainable resources for development, research, and conservation.