Caterer and Hotelkeeper – 7251

Poor harvest will force up coffee prices

CATERERS are facing a 30% rise in coffee prices owing to higher world demand and forecasts of a poor harvest in coffee-growing countries.

The warning comes from Philip Thomas, managing director of Tchibo Coffee International, who told Caterer there was now huge inflation in raw bean prices on world commodity markets.

Mr Thomas said he expected all coffee companies to be affected by the price increases. There will be two waves of rises, one of 12-15% almost immediately, followed by a similar rise in September. The price hike is expected to be permanent.

It's ironic that the collapse of the former Soviet Unionis one of the main reasonsfor the growth in demand.Previously, coffee quality in the Soviet Union was very poor, with widespread use of low-quality beans and extenders such as chicory.

With the opening of borders to Western trade, high-quality coffee is now being delivered to East European markets.