Botanical, Marine and Dairy Processing Plants for South Africa

South Africa combines several distinct raw-material systems in one country. Rooibos is native to the Cederberg region of the Western Cape, and buchu grows wild on the slopes of the Western Cape mountains. Honeybush, marula and aloes are among the other indigenous plants that are now harvested commercially for world markets. These streams call for leaf and bark drying, hot-water or ethanol-water extraction, and concentration of the extract before spray drying.

The country has a deciduous fruit industry and an export citrus industry, which generate fruit that is dried, juiced or concentrated, along with peel, pomace and other residues that carry value if they are handled promptly. Deciduous fruit suits both conventional hot-air drying and solar-assisted drying, while citrus peel is a natural feed for oil recovery and distillation. Solvent users, including extract makers, need distillation systems that return ethanol to the process rather than send it to waste.

The fishing sector is a significant contributor to the economy, and fish and trimmings can be cooked, pressed and separated into meal and oil, then refined; kelp is also harvested commercially. South Africa has an organised dairy industry, where evaporation and spray drying turn surplus milk into stable powders. Typical buyers are ingredient manufacturers, tea and botanical packers, fruit exporters, fishery operators and dairy processors, many of whom ship through ports such as Cape Town and Durban.