With market prices for coffee jumping, could that cup of java be a jolt to your wallet? | CBC News LoadedThe price of coffee has been skyrocketing on international commodities markets, and while consumers in Canada haven't felt the grind yet, the pressure of climate change on the world's coffee farms is setting the industry on edge, insiders and scientists said.
The price jumps come amid serious droughts in Brazil and Vietnam, two of the world's largest coffee producers. And with climate change driving up the frequency of these extreme weather events, industry insiders say the situation could result in a higher price for a cup of coffee in Canada down the line.
Karl Ward, owner and founder of Chronicle Coffee Roasters in Calgary, said he believes the market will stabilize, but added various strains on the industry right now can be stressful. 'I worry with regards to cash flow and sustainability for us as a roaster.' "But one thing as roasters we've never seen before is a fluctuation like we have now."
One farmer in Caconde, a town in one of Sao Paulo state's key growing regions, told the Associated Pressthat he expected to harvest 120 sacks of coffee beans this season, but only managed to get 100 because of the drought. He expects market prices will drop closer to $2-$2.20 US later this year — cautioning this stabilization is dependent on weather conditions in coffee-producing regions next year.In Brazil's coffee-producing regions, a drought of this magnitude should occur "about once every 50 years," according to Nathan Moore, an associate professor at Michigan State University who studies climate modelling.
When trees are removed, it disrupts an ecosystem's moisture recycling, potentially leaving regions more vulnerable to drought, Moore explained.under former president Jair Bolsonaro. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who took power in 2023, vowed to end deforestation in the Amazon, and the rateClimate change may be only one of the drivers behind the high prices we're seeing right now, but it's the biggest threat to the sustained health of the industry in the future, experts say.