P. Navarro Villa
Research expert covering food and agriculture in Latin America
Get in touch with us nowIn present times, mate enjoys its own official day on November 30 in Argentina and Uruguay. In 2020, a cold version of the infusion created in Paraguay and known as ‘tereré’ was categorized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. And in terms of international trade, yerba mate generates an annual surplus of more than 70 million U.S. dollars in Latin America.
The kings of yerba mate
Yerba mate production has historically been dominated by Argentina and Brazil. But as the latter turned into a global heavyweight in coffee production, Argentina became the largest yerba mate producer in the world. In 2019, the country harvested more than 830 thousand metric tons of mate leaves, the highest output registered in the decade. Argentine mate production is mainly located in the northeastern provinces of Misiones and Corrientes. By traded volume, Argentina is the largest yerba mate exporter in the world, but when it comes to exported value, Brazil takes the lead.From South America to the world
Although Argentina is the largest producer of yerba mate, and the beverage has even been officialized as the national infusion, Uruguayans are its most loyal consumers. The annual per capita consumption of mate in Uruguay surpasses eight kilograms, while in Argentina each person consumes an average of 6.5 kilograms per year. The infusion has also gained popularity worldwide. In 2019, Syria was by far the main country of destination for Argentine mate exports, receiving more than 31 thousand tons of the ground herb. Meanwhile, exports of yerba mate from Paraguay have Spain as their main destination.
