Production costs wilt North Queensland tea plantation

Australia’s biggest tea producer is about to shut the gates on its plantation and factory.

Nerada tea plantation’s farm operations manager Tony Poyner will lose his job in July after dwindling demand for black tea has led to the farm’s closure. Picture: Brian Cassey

For the past 33 years, Tony Poyner has spent his days picking, pruning, packing and meticulously maintaining Australia’s biggest tea plantation.

He worked his way up from being a tradesman’s assistant during construction of the on-site factory, to his current role as farm operations manager.

But that role will come to an end in July when the 321ha ­Nerada tea estates and factory on the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, go into indefinite ­“hibernation”.

A combination of dwindling demand for black tea, escalating production costs, soaring inflation, drought and the pandemic have forced the family owners to close the shutters and look for ­finance to repurpose the facility to compete in the new age.

“We’re hitting the pause button and we’re going to suspend ­operations,” Mr Poyner said.

“The estates are in very good order and these bushes have a productive life of 80 to 100 years, and these estates will sit comfortably, particularly through this winter period, in the spring, in the summer, without too much maintenance at all.”

Nerada tea plantation farm operations manager Tony Poyner among the tea plants where he has worked for 33 years. Picture: Brian Cassey

Nerada tea has been sold on supermarket shelves around the country since 1974, with the rainforest-fringed estate producing 6600 tonnes of fresh tea leaves annually.

But with a yearly decline in black tea consumption of about 10 per cent and 80 per cent of the tea consumed in Australia coming from overseas, Nerada has struggled in recent years.

While there is enough Nerada tea in the company’s warehouse to keep shelves stocked for another 12 to 18 months, what the plantation and factory produces is set to change significantly.

Nerada chief executive Stewart Le Bon said the company had been absorbing skyrocketing processing costs for at least six years and had made the difficult decision to close the estate and repurpose for the future. “Tea as a product is used in so many different categories, whether it’s cleaning products, nutraceuticals, functional beverages, Boba (bubble) tea,” Mr Le Bon said.

Nerada's factory and plantation near Malanda will be closing down as high manufacturing costs and changing preferences for tea catch up with the family-owned company, costing farm operations manager Tony Poyner his job. Picture: Brian Cassey

“The future outlook is positive, but we need some time to transition because it effectively means decommissioning and then sourcing the required pieces of kit required to go through a completely different process which is down the path of extraction of new derivatives from the tea plantation which are of higher value.”

Mr Le Bon said there had been an outpouring of community support since the company announced its plans. He hoped Nerada would be able to continue to sell black tea, as well as the new products, in the future.

The company is in discussions with potential investors and with the state and federal governments to access grants to support the company’s transition.

Mr Poyner hopes to continue to play an advisory role with Nerada where he can help care for his beloved tea bushes.

“We produce some of the most amazing green leaves off these bushes off these estates in such a pristine area where we’re pesticide free and don’t use any chemicals,” he said. “Even though we’re changing step, our focus is still very much on the future.”