COFFEE lovers may soon be paying more for their favourite pick-me-up after production costs rose to a seven-year high.
Bad weather has hit supplies from Brazil, the world’s largest producer.
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And anti-government protests in Colombia have disrupted shipments, bringing exports to a 40-year low.
A shortage of shipping containers in South East Asia is another headache.
Carlos Mera, commodities market researcher at Rabobank, told The Grocer trade magazine: “There have been challenges almost everywhere.
“Colombian exports have recovered since the protests but there’s a lot of coffee still to be shipped.
“At some point you have to pass higher costs on to the consumer.”
Supermarket prices are most likely to increase, experts predict.
But because coffee accounts for only four per cent of the cost of the average £3 takeaway cup, the effect at chains such as Costa Coffee is likely to be minimal.
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