Drying takes place in a massive drum. Over 2.5 million pounds of dried, baled leaves are then shipped from Garnay to Charleston and then travel by sea to Europe. Two smaller plantations are near Bordeaux in France. Since 1990 the Chinese manufacturers have rapidly developed. The potential could be very high, the density of the plantations is variable because they often originate from nurseries.
Harvesting is done by hand and intercropping systems are applied.
Total acreage in China is about 5,000 ha. The climates of South Carolina and South China are about similar. The leaves are harvested on the farms in South Korea, Japan, France and the USA, are then dried, pressed into bales and transported to the manufacturers in Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and France for the production of the extract to be used as a phytomedicine or supplement. It has now become a popular herbal supplement, even prescribed in Germany by general practitioners and covered by national health care assurance. In France it is also prescribed and in the Netherlands it is prescribed for painfree walking.