Coffee drinkers may soon see their morning treat get more expensive, as the price of coffee on international commodity markets has hit its highest level on record.
On Tuesday, the price for Arabica beans, which account for most global production, topped $3.44 a pound (0.45kg), having jumped more than 80% this year. The cost of Robusta beans, meanwhile, hit a fresh high in September.
It comes as coffee traders expect crops to shrink after the world’s two largest producers, Brazil and Vietnam, were hit by bad weather and the drink’s popularity continues to grow.
One expert told the BBC coffee brands were considering putting prices up in the new year.
While in recent years major coffee roasters have been able to absorb price hikes to keep customers happy and maintain market share, it looks like that’s about to change, according to Vinh Nguyen, the chief executive of Tuan Loc Commodities.
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“Brands like JDE Peet (the owner of the Douwe Egberts brand), Nestlé and all that, have [previously] taken the hit from higher raw material prices to themselves,” he said.
“But right now they are almost at a tipping point. A lot of them are mulling a price increase in supermarkets in [the first quarter] of 2025.”
Italian coffee giant Lavazza said it had gone to great lengths to protect its market share and not pass on higher raw material costs to customers, but soaring coffee prices had eventually forced its hand.
