Retail coffee prices in the UK on the rise due to poor harvests and damages to farms in key producing countries.
December 15 - 2024
Coffee Geography Magazine
Coffee prices in the UK are set to rise due to fear of inventory shortage caused by poor harvests in major producing countries. But this time the consumers at the retail level are expected to feel the pinch as all coffee beverages are set with new prices.
The average annual coffee consumption per person in the UK is approximately 528 cups for 2023, based on 98 million cups of consumption each day. From 2021 to 2022, coffee drinkers in the UK consumed approximately 29 millilitres on average per person per week.
A cup of cappuccino in the UK at Pret a Manger was only £2.45 in 2019 whereas today customers without a £5 monthly subscription have to pay £4.05, a 65 per cent increase. Meanwhile, the cost of an americano at the sandwich retailer is £3.60, an increase of more than 50 per cent over the past five years, although the chain did recently reduce the cost of its filter coffee to 99p.
A large cappuccino at Greggs is currently £3 while a large americano is £2.50. The prices were £2.20 and £1.90 respectively in 2019.
Nestle also plans to continue raising prices and making packs smaller to offset the impact of higher bean prices. The firm said: "Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of coffee, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products,. We continue to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible.”
Neuman Gruppe GmbH projected Brazil's 2025/26 arabica crop at 40 million bags and emphasized that it's "too early" to accurately assess the damage to the crops at the farms. The Arabica market tightness has also been driven by higher demand after a robusta shortage and heavy rains in Vietnam, which delayed the harvest.
Lavazza, the coffee giant based in Italy has already stated ahead of time of its concern on the price hike which is expected to remain “very high” and was unlikely to drop until the middle of 2025 amid intense pressure on supply chains. “We have never seen such a spike in price as the trend right now,” said Giuseppe Lavazza, who chairs the company. “The coffee supply chain is dramatically under pressure.”
Now other producers from Central America, Africa and South East Asia are pressured to cover the gap in the inventory as their flowering seasons from March to May are approaching for good harvests.