Coffee Prices Hit 50 Year High, Hammering Consumers
Coffee prices recently hit $400 a pound, a half-century high. Doubt about the climate in Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, has sharply lowered production. Most of last year’s crop of arabica beans has been sold, so there is also a supply shortage.
*Shortages Worse
*Some Americans Can’t Afford Chocolate
“Over time, we’re going to see much higher prices,” Thaleon Tremain, chief executive and co-founder of Pachamama Coffee in California, told The New York Times. “Supply is not meeting demand.” The price increase has hit people who brew coffee at home and those who buy coffee at Starbucks.
Starbucks
Starbucks is particularly vulnerable. About 40 million people go to a US-based Starbucks stores every month. Customers have complained that Starbucks drinks are too expensive. Based on coffee prices, that will only get worse.
The coffee problem is not unlike that of cacao. The climate has hit West African production, which produces more than half the world’s supply.
Similar To Cocoa
One thing that is not clear is whether coffee and cocoa can be raised elsewhere. Also, as climate change warms other parts of the world and changes their environments, it may require a herculean effort.
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