Climate change could make your daily cup of coffee more expensive

Coffee lovers and café visitors are likely to soon see a rise in the price of a cup of coffee, experts warn.

The price of Arabica coffee beans, the high-quality beans found in most restaurants and stores, has skyrocketed this month, recently rising to $3.50 a pound.

That’s a 70% increase this year, bringing the crop’s highest prices since 1977.

Adjusted for inflation, $3.50 would be equivalent to about $0.66 in 1977. At that time, prices rose because a freeze killed more than a billion coffee bean trees.

And today, experts say, climate change is to blame.

“We have experienced significant drought in some of the world’s most important coffee-growing regions, such as Brazil, the world’s largest coffee exporter,” said David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University.

Ortega examines the supply chain and how ingredients get from the farmer to the grocery store.

He said droughts, frosts, floods, high temperatures and other unpredictable weather conditions played a role in lower crop yields in Brazil and Vietnam, another major coffee exporter.

Robusta beans are grown in Vietnam, slightly lower quality beans that are used, among other things, for instant coffee.

“We will see such (climate) events occur more and more frequently in the future. “That’s why we need to start taking this seriously and investing in agricultural research and development to be able to mitigate and manage the impacts of climate change on our agricultural production and agricultural system,” said Ortega.

“One impact of this is an increase in costs, which then translates into an increase in prices for consumers,” he added.

Consumers will feel the increase, but so will the roasters and retailers who bring them their pick-me-up.

“Climate change is the main factor behind the increase and change in prices in the coffee market. It puts a lot of pressure on the market. Supply is down and demand is up,” said Jackie Newman, vice president of World of Coffee Inc.

World of Coffee is a family-owned business that processes and packages raw green coffee beans for private labels, foodservice establishments and coffee shops.

Newman said the company’s products are delivered to thousands of customers across the country every day.

“We will try to be as fair as possible and cover as much of the costs as possible. “Obviously people still need their cup of coffee in the morning,” Newman said. “But we also need to make sure we take all of our costs into account, not just the increase in coffee, but also the increase in packaging and labor costs.”

She expects coffee prices could rise between 50 cents and $1 a pound in the coming days.

“People are very reactive to coffee prices, and that affects everyone in the chain. Farmers are affected because their supply is very low. The green coffee sellers are affected because they don’t have as much coffee to sell and the demand is high,” she said.

“Roasters are extremely affected because the price is so high and we still have our customers to fulfill orders for. This trickles down the chain and impacts the everyday consumer,” Newman added.

“There just isn’t enough coffee for everyone.”

The forecast for other crops could follow a similar trend.

“For example, if we look at the recent floods in Europe that hit the Valencia region (in Spain), a major agricultural production region in that country, they had some pretty damaging effects on things like oranges,” Ortega said.

“If you look back, not long ago, two years ago, we had a mega drought in the West in places like California, where a lot of our specialty crops are grown. Things like lettuce, whose prices rose significantly a few years ago, and even beef production were affected by this mega-drought. And we are currently feeling the impact on beef prices,” he said.