Not a good sign to hear that we caffeine addicts face higher prices for our daily cups o’ brew.
The price rise is due to poor crops and robust demand. (See, you did learn something in Econ 101.)
“We are in a dangerous situation,” Andrea Illy, chief executive of Italy’s leading coffee company, exclaimed last week, warning that prices could “explode” due to supply shortages.
Until recently, it was widely assumed that the global economic crisis would damp consumption and prices for coffee. However, that forecast proved wrong, since demand for coffee has remained high, even while consumers have moved from cafés to home drinking.
International coffee prices last week hit a seven-month high. Coffee is now $1.28 per pound. This is up 22 per cent from its December low, in New York trading.
The spot price of Colombian coffee jumped to almost $2.20 a pound, a 12-year high, due to supply constraints.
Speaking of coffee. Let’s look at sugar:
Sugar prices in New York and London rose to their highest level in almost three years. (About $450 a ton.)
