One of the main gaucho traditions is chimarrão. And the guarantee of good yerba mate can be achieved with a certified product. Emater/RS-Ascar certifies 12 brands in the State and another four are in the certification process.
Anyone arriving in São Mateus from the south, 120 km from Curitiba/PR, is welcomed with the following message: “Welcome to the Land of Erva-Mate”. This is because the municipality boasts the title of the first in Brazil to have the São Matheus Indication of Origin seal. The achievement was awarded by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), in the form of Geographical Indication (GI). This means that the yerba mate produced locally has specific characteristics thanks to the geographic environment, including natural and human factors. GI registration allows you to delimit an area, restricting the use of its name to producers and service providers in the region. The protected geographical area is restricted to the municipalities of Antônio Olinto, Mallet, Rebouças, Rio Azul, São Mateus do Sul and São João do Triunfo, in the state of Paraná.
The São Matheus region is mainly responsible for the production of yerba mate. There are more than 4 thousand producers, with leaf production of 67 thousand tons and an average yield of 7.5 kg/ha.
Recognized quality
Today Paraná has seven products with GI registration: yerba mate from São Mateus do Sul, coffee from Norte Pioneiro, guava from Carlópolis, honey from western Paraná, cheese from Witmarsun, grapes from Marialva and Ortigueira honey. Another five have already been filed and are awaiting confirmation from INPI. Paraná is among the states with the largest number of products certified or in the process of being certified as a Geographical Indication, ranking third only behind Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul. The seal attests to the authenticity of the production and helps boost the tourism in addition to recognizing the work of producers in the region.
The Public Relations Officer of the Associação dos Amigos da Erva-Mate de São Mateus do Sul (IG-Mathe), Haroldo Mildemberg, explains that this indication attributes a certain reputation, intrinsic value and identity that distinguishes them from other products of the same nature available on the market. , including for being the first recognized in the country.
Among the reasons that led to the title are history, market recognition, know-how, genetics, climate and soil factors and terroir of the region. All of this is proven by documentation with the INPI.
“The challenge is to get the chimarrão out of the gourd”
The project to recognize the São Mateus do Sul region as a yerba mate producing territory in Brazil began in 2014. The main objective was to protect and enhance the yerba mate production chain in the territory. The application for registration of the São Matheus Geographical Indication was filed with the INPI in November 2015 and granted in June 2017.
Since then, producer Ronaldo Toppel Filho, who grew up watching his family grow yerba mate, noticed many improvements in quality, product knowledge and increased demand. He relies on good agricultural practices to achieve this result. The São Mateus do Sul yerba mate is native, cultivated in the Atlantic Forest of the Araucaria forest. He highlights the ecological appeal of the production. Today it is possible to extract the product and conserve the forest.
Toppel also highlights the potential that culture has that is still little explored. The production of its leaves goes to industry and, after processing, goes for export. He notes that the foreign market has been growing and there is still a lot to expand abroad and within Brazil. “Even though the number of drink lovers is growing, our challenge is to take chimarrão out of the gourd and also use it in derivatives such as perfumery, gastronomy and teas. Much of the world does not know about yerba mate, so the potential for development is enormous”, he adds.
Author | EMATER – RS & Eliza Maliszewski
