Shipping container costs, which are still five times higher than pre-pandemic, and a “discount culture” in tea are annoying the boss.
Dilmah Tea chief executive Dilhan Fernando is in Australia to meet customers.
He said it was up to companies such as Dilmah to stimulate more interest in quality tea. He noted, however, that sentiment was improving among younger tea drinkers who were paying closer attention to“They’re sensitive to health and wellbeing more than they ever have been,” he said.Dilmah, which has 18,000 workers in Sri Lanka, is going through one of the most tumultuous times in its historyat home triggers inflation of 59 per cent, and serious fuel and food shortages.
Mr Fernando said the company had been helping by supplying food to its workers, and the business was protected somewhat because it exports 95 per cent of its tea to 104 countries.The company has lifted prices by about 5 per cent in Australia in the past 12 months, but has not fully passed on the rising costs of raw materials and packaging, choosing to absorb some imposts.
Mr Fernando said Dilmah’s annual sales in Australia had slipped to about $32 million, from about $37 million five years ago, with discounting rife in the tea segment as large companies pursued multi-country-of-origin tea sourcing, and private label brands made inroads.
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