We are facing a global coffee crisis, experts say

Climate change is increasing the price of coffee. This week, the price of Arabica beans rose sharply again, due to the fear of frost in Brazil. Experts expect that it will not stop there because the weather continues to grow.

The demand for good coffee is increasing worldwide. But good coffee is becoming scarce. This puts the morning routine of around a billion people at risk. And all because of climate change: a thin crop like coffee cannot withstand extreme weather. There are fears that between 35 and 75 percent of the world’s coffee supply could be gone by the end of this century.

We pay more for worse coffee, says Massimo Battaglia from the Italian Accademia del Caffè Espresso, which helps farmers in the transition to adapt to the new climate. “The coffee is getting darker, more bitter with more caffeine. That’s the coffee of the future.”

Not a single coffee bean grows in Italy, but Italians cannot go a day without coffee:

Coffee is a multi-billion dollar industry for many countries. The coffee crisis is therefore a threat to the economy of dozens of countries. And so also for the livelihood of around 125 million people, mostly farmers who already live below the poverty line and have no place to deal with changes.

“There are over 200 studies on coffee and climate change, and they are all bad news,” says Aaron Davis, a coffee expert at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. He has been researching everything related to coffee for thirty years. He goes by the name ‘Indiana Jones of coffee’.

The quality of coffee is now going down everywhere, says Davis. “Wherever I am – Africa, Madagascar, Asia – everyone is talking about changes in the weather pattern. Some farmers are going to stop coffee. Because the weather has changed so much.”

In Colombia, more than half a million families grow coffee. They are increasingly experiencing the problems, confirms the coffee farmer Edilson Idrovo, whose family has been growing coffee for decades. “You used to have a good harvest in April-May. You saved some for July-August, because those were the bad times.”

Now all times are uncertain, he says. “The weather is unreasonable. The climate affects the harvest and the growth of beans. And if the winter harvest fails, you lose your entire crop.”

Half of Colombia’s coffee farmers now live below the poverty line. The prospects are poor. This will affect the economy of Colombia: the coffee industry there represents almost ten percent of the economy.

Idrovo made a big change to his land and now plants and harvests at different times. “We have divided it into five pieces of land. This means that we harvest much less, but at least we harvest every month now.” But where his family used to work with fifty to sixty coffee pickers during the harvest, he now does it alone.

In addition to coffee, Idrovo also grows oranges and avocados. Not only to turn it, but also because the trees of these fruits provide shade and prevent the coffee cherries from burning due to the high heat. Breaking the monoculture also helps against diseases.

Extreme weather will also affect top coffee producer Brazil and regional coffee powerhouse Ethiopia, which derives a third of its export revenue from coffee. “There are about 60 countries that export coffee on a large scale,” says coffee expert Davis. Coffee is even the main export product for twelve to twenty countries. “If they don’t export coffee anymore, the impact on their economy will be huge. “

Davis thinks we should pay more for coffee. “There is no other way. The additional income from the price increases must go to the farmers. Because without producers we don’t have a coffee industry.”

Italian coffee expert Battaglia agrees. “A cup of coffee costs one euro in Italy,” he says. “Three to five cents goes to the producer. That doesn’t make the producer’s life any better.”