“It won’t be as cheap as before”: coffee suppliers warn of price increases in 2025

The price of coffee beans on the London Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) continues to rise, which began in early November. On November 27, coffee was trading at its highest price since 1977, $328.4 per pound. Coffee prices are up 70% by 2024, and Arabica futures for March are also at historically high levels since the 1970s. ICE Robusta futures are up 80% this year.

Bloomberg analysts associate the rapid rise in coffee prices with a serious drought in Vietnam and Brazil: these countries are the world’s main suppliers of coffee beans. Brazil produces up to 50% of the world’s Arabica coffee and Vietnam produces up to 90% of the world’s Robusta coffee. In Brazil, the harvest was damaged by a drought that lasted almost six months, and in Vietnam it was accompanied by heavy rains during the cereal harvest period.

The rapid increase in coffee prices is not unique to this market, Ramaz Chanturia, general director of the Roschaykofe association, told RBC. According to the expert, prices reach high levels every ten years and then fall, but the current situation is complicated by the simultaneous increase in the prices of Arabica and Robusta. In addition, coffee production volumes do not keep pace with the increase in demand for the drink around the world, and prices in Russia are further pressured by the weakening of the ruble (previously, the Central Bank set the exchange rate dollar exchange rate at a record level of 109.6 rubles).

Russian coffee consumers should not fear a sharp increase in prices, Sergei Rumyantsev, founder of the One Price Coffee chain, told RBC. Large national producers and roasters buy coffee beans through long-term contracts, while coffee shops continue to use old stock purchased at the same price, the expert explained.

“Coffee is unlikely to be as cheap as before,” said Tasty Coffee public relations director Ekaterina Gorina. In his opinion, within three to six months coffee will be supplied to Russia at new prices.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the coffee price index for the urban end consumer increased nearly 40 points from 2021 to 2023. For the American consumer, prices could be further aggravated by potential Trump tariffs on export goods, Business Insider said.