The Global Price of Coffee is Increasing

A cup of coffee is expected to rise to over £5 per cup in the next few years.

What is happening to global coffee prices? How does this impact us as a business and what about our customers?

On the global coffee stock market, in the last year unroasted coffee (green beans) prices have fluctuated from $1.87 to over $4.37 with current coffee prices increasing by 101% from this time last year. The speciality coffee market which we work within has also been affected were we have seen prices rises for more premium green coffee hiking up by 50%. Nescafe hiked up their prices by over 15% in November and we have had to put our bean prices up by 10% in January. For our loyal coffee shop customers we will have to put our drinks prices up soon to reflect the costs of not only the green beans but also other costs such as building, staffing, water and energy.

What has caused this increase? First and foremost a rise in global demand, particularly in emerging markets with large populations has put a strain on supplies. In the last few years global stocks have been decreasing putting upward pressure on prices.  This has been due to this insatiable demand for coffee alongside droughts and late frosts effecting high coffee producing regions such as Brazil and Vietnam. Brazil produces 38% of the world’s coffee and if they have a poor harvest through drought as has happened recently, this alone will have a dramatic impact in the global price of coffee.  

How these costs impact on the consumer will depend on the coffee shop or roaster. Some will choose to increase their prices and pass on all costs to consumers. Others will look to choose cheaper coffees that are of lower quality or from different origins. Some will look to blends as a solution, utilising cheaper lower quality coffees, sometimes adding robusta beans to mix with the more expensive and bulk out a bag.

It’s not all bad news. Global coffee prices will be high for a while, but they will come down again. Many farmers, where they are not affected by adverse weather conditions, are benefiting from higher prices and have been able to improve not only their own lives but also those of their families.

Customers should ask their barista or roaster to find out what beans are being used in their coffee, whether it is blended and with what. They should be able to find out more about where their coffee comes from and take note of Speciality Coffee Association cup scores awarded by Q Graders around the world to demonstrate the quality of coffee.

We have opted to retain the quality of the beans and to take a slightly smaller margin before hiking up our prices. What is important for us is maintaining our transparent and sometimes direct trade routes with farmers while respecting and retaining our customers, who choose us for the quality and expertise we provide. We are proud of the transparency and honesty of our business, not only for our customers, but also for the farmers at source. If you want to continue to support us and the coffee farmers we work with, please pop into the shop or have have a look at our Website for Coffee Beans.