In March, we will be increasing the price of our coffee. As a valued customer, we thought we should take the time to explain what is happening in the global coffee market, and why it is affecting the cost of our coffee.
Coffee prices just reached a decade-long high. Climate change is creating more extreme weather events, making coffee production unpredictable. Last year, severe frost damage in Brazil affected half a million acres of coffee crops. Also, hit previously by severe drought, last year was a disappointing harvest for the world’s largest global coffee producer.
Are price increases good for farmers?
Maybe in the short term. However, this sudden price increase creates uncertainty in the market. An increase in price encourages more farmers to plant coffee, which can lead to an oversupply. With our 20+ years of experience in coffee, we have seen this price cycle before with prices falling back to unsustainable levels once again.
Unstable market dynamics create challenges for our farmers working in coffee origins and affect the availability of coffee here, in The Netherlands. We focus on continuing to provide high quality coffee and paying our farmers the highest market prices (49% above Fairtrade minimum in 2021).
Source: International Coffee Organization (ICO)
