Organic Mate bets on traceability and a cycle of up to six years

The production of organic yerba mate in southern Brazil began to require increasingly longer cycles of agricultural planning, traceability and technical control to meet the growth in demand for natural drinks and certified products.

In Paraná, one of the main production chains in the sector takes up to six years between the development of the seedlings and the complete maturation of the plant used to manufacture mate-based drinks.

The model has expanded the professionalization of the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis, a species native to South America that gives rise to the traditional Brazilian mate tea and Gaucho and Argentine chimarrão.

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One example is the MegaMatte chain, an example known for producing drinks based on organic mate in several Brazilian states. The advancement of the production chain had a direct impact on consumption: more than 500 thousand liters were sold in 2025 alone.

The main raw material used by the chain comes from the Ivaí region, in the center-south of Paraná, where the supplier Viva Mate maintains a vertical production structure, from the seedling nursery to the final processing of yerba mate.

According to MegaMatte's partner, Julio Monteiro, market growth required greater predictability in the production chain. "When we talk about organic and traceable, there is no room for improvisation."

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Long cycle requires planning in the field
Yerba mate has slow development when compared to other agricultural crops. After planting, the plant takes between two and three years to allow for the first harvest and only reaches full maturity after the sixth year.

The prolonged cycle requires financial planning, continuous management and production stability to guarantee regular supply. Cultivation involves soil monitoring, biological control and permanent technical monitoring. Harvesting is manual, allowing careful selection of the leaves and preservation of the raw material.

After harvesting, the herb undergoes controlled drying and, in the case of toasted mate, monitored roasting to define aroma, color and sensory profile. Storage also takes place in an environment with temperature and humidity control.

International certification and traceability
Organic production undergoes audits conducted by the French certification body ECOCERT and by companies accredited in the Brazilian Organic Conformity Assessment System (SisOrg), linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

Inspections include field checks, audits after drying and control during packaging, allowing complete batch traceability. In addition to traditional mate tea, the chain also supplies concentrated liquid and dry extracts used to standardize drinks sold in stores.

According to MegaMatte, organic mate already represents 15.2% of the chain's total revenue, a figure that exceeds 16% during the summer, the period of highest consumption. Throughout 2025, more than 1 million 500 ml glasses of the drink were sold.

Source: CNN