Nerada Tea Estates Goes Into Hibernation

With the tea harvesting season ending in late June, Nerada Tea Estates on the Atherton Tablelands will pause operations at our plantation and factory in Far North Queensland while we focus on transitioning to the production of new higher-value tea products. It is foreseen this will require significant investment and retooling in our tea plantation and primary processing facility. 

There is no impact to Nerada Tea Pty Ltd, based in Brisbane where our stocks of leaf teas and Organic Herbal Infusions will continue to be blended, packaged and distributed to deliver our high-quality products to supermarket shelves across the country. 

Nerada Chairman John Russell noted “It is a very sad day for Nerada Tea Estates and the loyal people who have helped Nerada Tea to become the largest producer of Australian-grown tea since opening our processing factory in 1991. We are very proud of our history on the Atherton Tablelands which stretches back four decades to when Nerada Tea established a plantation at Malanda and value our loyal employees who have contributed to the strength of the Nerada brand. 

“Sadly, the plantation has faced a series of setbacks dating back to a serious drought in 2018, the disruption caused by the pandemic, and escalating production costs on the back of soaring inflation combined with a 10 per cent yearly decrease in demand for black tea on our supermarket shelves.” 

The Nerada Tea packaging and distribution facility in Brisbane will carry on operations as normal where our stocks of leaf tea and herbs/ ingredients will continue to be blended, packaged and distributed to deliver our range of products to shelves across the country and also fulfil online purchases.  

As Australia’s largest producer of black tea, we value the loyalty that we’ve had from staff and tea lovers across the world over the last half-century. We’re exploring all the options available for the future. 

Common Questions: 

 Q: Has the blend or product changed?

A: No. There has been no change to the blends or products due to this announcement.

 Q: Will the blend or product change in future?

A: It is uncertain how long the plantation operation will be in hibernation. Given the harvest season ends in late June, we have significant high-quality tea stocks on hand. Should we be placed in a position where we need to make a change, this will be communicated in advance.

For further information, contact the Nerada team