Price of coffee hits record highs as weather hits market – amount you pay for cup set to skyrocket
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THE price of coffee is set to hit record highs yet we continue to dig deeper into our pockets to fight the winter chills with a warm drink. While the cost of robusta beans is on the rise, arabica beans cost more now than they have done in 50 years. The international price of arabica beans hit £2.70, on Tuesday, December 10, reaching levels not seen since 1977.
![[The jump in price comes after lengthy spells of draught in two major coffee producing countries]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dx_0542ejpg-JS957409022.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
This is a 109 per cent increase over the past 12 months and a staggering 145 per cent in the past five years, The Grocer reports. Due to the increases in wholesale prices over the past three years, a fancy latte in London now costs a whopping £5. The jump in price comes after a spell of draught in two major coffee producing countries, Brazil and Vietnam.
![[Coffee beans are estimated to make up just just ten per cent of a takeaway coffee’s cost]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pi-1224000-JS957409136.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Now coffee bean prices have surged by over 40 per cent. Robusta beans, which tend to be cheaper as they're used in instant coffee, broke records when they hit £4,510.63 per tonne at the end of November. Vietnam is the worlds largest producer of the robusta bean, but after a lengthy dry spell followed by heavy rain at the start of harvest production reduced significantly.
![[Now it can cost around £5 for a fancy latte in London]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/dsc_9585-JS957408796.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
In turn, prices accelerated and many coffee companies decided to switch to arabica beans, as it was costing around the same as robusta beans. Again, this took its toll on arabica bean demand, driving overall prices up in the market. However, the cost of robusta beans has remained the high due to the Houthi-induced Red Sea disruptions last December.
