Need a caffeine Fix? Sorry, But Climate Change is Jolting the Cost of your morning Java

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The current wholesale price of coffee beans is about $3.18 per pound, a figure which has not been so high since 1977 and leading people to find that the breakfast beverage puts a larger dent in their household food bill. Coffee chains like Starbucks have also had to raise prices, which may hit their already slow store sales.

Why? Primarily due to climate change. 

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Brazil is among the largest providers of coffee to the U.S. However, the beans are an average 26% smaller due to devastating droughts this year. The weather in another significant supplier — Vietnam — has also hit crop yields.

The coffee supply trouble is starting to look like the cocoa supply issues earlier in 2024. With two-thirds of the cocoa in the world grown in the West African nations of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, floods in the two countries have devastated their crops, a big factor in the price of beans has tripling since early 2020.

The solution to the cocoa problems has been for chocolate makers to raise prices or reduce portions. Companies that sell coffee may have to turn to the same tactics. 

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