The high coffee price has been a recurring issue in recent months. Poor harvests, primarily in Brazil, have driven up the price of coffee beans on the commodity exchange to record levels. Now, the price may be on its way to rise even further.
All major coffee companies negotiate with the major daily grocery chains five times a year, so it concerns different 10-week periods. A new period begins next week, says Anders Thorén, communications manager at the coffee roastery Löfbergs to GP.
Highest Increase
According to the newspaper, several stores have already informed about the impending price increases on social media. One store mentions an increase of 20 kronor per package.
Ulf Lindvall, CEO of the family-owned company Lindvalls kaffe, also predicts a 20-kronor increase.
It's probably the highest increase I've experienced in my 55 years in the industry, he says.
The reason is spelled weather.
We have to acknowledge that it's climate change. Coffee growers are very dependent on stable weather. The rains come when they should come and the drought comes when it should be dry, and the temperatures are right. Now, nothing is right, there's no order in the weather.
Already Raised Price
If the weather, and thus the coffee prices, stabilize in the future, it's impossible to say without knowing whether climate change is here to stay, according to Ulf Lindvall.
We lower (prices) when we can lower and raise when we must raise. But the entire coffee industry suffers from the high prices. Nobody wants them.
Next week, the Statistics Sweden (SCB) will also present complete inflation statistics for March.
In February, the price of coffee, tea, and cocoa rose 8.8 percent compared to the previous month and 23.5 percent on an annual basis.
