NI coffee drinkers could be about to see costs rise yet again

The price for arabica beans – the world’s most popular bean variety – reached a 47-year high this week, having risen by more than 18% this year to top 3.44 US dollars (£2.70) a pound.

Robusta coffee is also seeing record price hikes, reaching 5,694 dollars (£4,460) per metric ton in late November.

Coffee commodity prices have surged this year on the back of weather concerns in major growing countries like Brazil and Vietnam.

Late last month, Nestle confirmed it would continue raising prices and making packs smaller to offset the impact of higher bean prices.

The price of Nescafe Original Instant Coffee in UK supermarkets is up 15% year on year, according to The Grocer’s Key Value Items tracker.

Nestle said: “Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of coffee, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products.

“As always, we continue to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible whilst maintaining the same high-quality and delicious taste that consumers know and love.”

However, Will Corby, director of coffee and social impact at supplier Pact Coffee, told The Grocer coffee beans had been “sold for far too cheap from its countries of origin to the West for far too long”.

He told the trade magazine: “Huge coffee companies might say that these market highs are bad news, but, in reality, farmers are finally being paid enough to live on.”

He added: “It’s widely reported that this market high is mainly due to harvests in Brazil being short, but that’s not even half the story.

“We’ve seen near-perfect growing conditions in Brazil this year, and many technical reports suggest a surplus in the 2024/25 crop.

“There’s been a reduction in robusta production in Vietnam, driving its commodity price up significantly to near that of arabica,” Mr Corby continued.

“Because of this, many coffee companies are choosing the better-quality arabica beans, driving up demand and price.”

However there are concerns about future supplies in Brazil after a lengthy dry spell earlier this year.

In Vietnam, the largest producer of the cheaper robusta bean, the key coffee belt suffered from dryness during the growing period and heavy rains arrived at the start of harvest.

Record coffee prices are in contrast to broader wholesale food costs, which are well below an all-time high set in early 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.