Be ready for costlier coffee as torrential weather in Brazil hits supply

Coffee prices are set to rise, stated recent reports, as Brazil- world’s largest coffee producer- is facing extreme torrential weather which in turn has hit supplies.

Brazil, which annually exports 34 million bags of coffee beans on average, has been hit with a series of climate shocks — a drought and plunging temperatures. Temperatures last month fell below 27 degrees Fahrenheit, about half what’s normal and the kind of cold that can damage or even kill coffee trees, reports said. 

The extreme weather in Brazil along with shipping bottlenecks and political protests that stalled exports from Colombia, has pushed the cost of beans up nearly 43 percent in 2021, stated media reports.

A shortage of shipping containers is also restricting exports, analysts say, leading to a sharp rise in the cost of shipping as well. Colombia’s exports have started to rebound, but those from other large producers, like Vietnam, have been slowed by such shipping bottlenecks.

Retail experts feels that the price rise may not be a problem for coffee giants like Starbucks or Nestle since they buy their supplies far in advance and won’t have to deal with the price gains for a year or more. Smaller roasters and retailers may have to deal with spiked prices.

Carlos Mera, commodities market researcher at Rabobank, told a media outlet that at some point higher cost will be passed on to customers.

The news about plausible pricier coffee in the coming weeks comes as current shortage of heavy good vehicle (HGV) drivers- caused due to Brexit immigration and pandemic- continues to disrupt supply chain in the UK.

Wetherspoon is the latest victim of the HGV driver shortage after it emerged the firm was running low on supplies of some beers.

The pub chain apologised after admitting a number of its 837 outlets had run short of popular brands.

British Retail Consortium director of food and sustainability Andrew Opie said: “Christmas is going to be incredibly challenging in some areas.”

But, he added that it is “too early to predict that we’re going to have problems at Christmas.”