Coffee Service

Drought pushes coffee prices to record highs

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July 14, 2021

Coffee prices are rising as Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, faces one of the worst droughts in nearly a century, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Arabica coffee beans in June reached their highest level since 2016. Arabica futures traded in New York rose more than 18% in the past three months, to $1.51 a pound, while London-traded robusta rose more than 30% in the past three months to a two-year high of $1,749 a metric ton.

Brazil's coffee harvest is expected to fall by its largest one-year amount this year, since 2003, as the country's arabica crop is expected to be nearly 15 million 132-pound bags less than in 2020.