There’s a Coffee Crisis Brewing
If you’re looking for a world-class cuppa jolt, book a ticket to Brazil. The country’s been responsible for about a third of the global supply of coffee beans for more than 150 years, its plantations covering a landmass four-fifths the size of Belgium. It’s big business over there. However, we have a hitch in the system! Brazil is experiencing less rain, and that’s hurting the crop!
Local commodity analysts picked up on this months ago. Cecafè, an exporters association, noted 22% fewer Brazilian bags of arabica being shipped to foreign markets in November, as compared to the same month a year prior. But this is Brazil. Its 220,000 coffee farms always deliver! Investors decided to chill, sit back on the Copacabana, and assume reserves would cover smaller worldwide demand this year anyway.
Well, congratulations fellow caffeine addicts, we’ve smashed last year’s record for clearing the shelves of Espresso and Nescafe, and gotten those traders panic-buying the commodity on whims of scarcity! In 2019, Americans on the brain juice rose by 10%. Major coffeehouses like Starbucks have stockpiles ready, but local farmers will still struggle to deliver harvests stated in futures contracts.
Weather permitting, those farmers might still get the last laugh. Coffee trees are cyclical, alternating between being able to produce large yields and small yields. Last year was a record-breakingly large yield. This year was a record-breakingly small yield. Next year will be a…!
