Why Russians May Soon Be Unable to Afford Their Morning Coffee Due to Global Crises and Limited Availability

Many Russians will not be able to get a coffee drink in the morning, due to several factors that are not in their favor this time, including high prices and lack of availability of the product within the country.

Unpleasant conditions affected the cheap and widespread Robusta coffee, which is usually used as instant coffee, amid limited alternatives, given that the coffee plant does not grow in Russia, which depends on its import.

Currently, a kilogram of Robusta coffee in Russian stores is equal to 1,420 Russian rubles (approximately $17.78), while the price of a kilogram of the same type in 2021, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was equal to 1,310 Russian rubles (16.40). approximately dollars), which means that it has increased by more than 8% of what it was before the invasion.

Vietnam is one of the most prominent countries that export Robusta coffee to Russia, and it is considered one of the largest producers of it in the world, but this year it harvested its lowest crop in four years, after farmers focused on growing more profitable crops such as avocado and durian, to meet the high costs of fertilizers in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It is noteworthy that the Western sanctions imposed on Russia, against the background of the invasion of Ukraine, prevented Russia from exporting fertilizers, so Russian fertilizers cannot reach buyers, including the Vietnamese.

There are two alternative countries for exporting coffee, Brazil and Indonesia, but Brazil, the second largest producer of Robusta coffee, has had its crop affected by drought, and there are also concerns that Indonesia’s production may decline in the wake of heavy rains in the country.

Despite these obstacles, shipments of Robusta beans were exported globally during the first six months of the current season, more than in the previous three years, but not fast enough to keep up with the growing needs.

The International Coffee Organization stated, in a previous report, that shipments between October and March were about 4% higher than the same period of the previous season.

In the context, Olga Polyakova, a Russian journalist, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed today, Friday, “The prices of all coffee varieties (Arabica and Robusta) have already increased significantly, but, to be fair, prices have increased all over the world, not only in Russia, and there Crises affected the exporting countries themselves, and the whole world.

Polyakova explained, “One of the most important problems that Vietnam faced in coffee production is the high costs of fertilizers due to their lack of availability, and this is due to Russia being prevented from exporting fertilizers, since the beginning of the military operation in Ukraine, and if Russia was allowed to export fertilizers, perhaps there would be no crop failure in Vietnam.” Perhaps coffee prices will return to what they were before.”

She pointed out that “Russia currently has a special problem with the high prices of coffee, and coffee beans do not play a decisive role in the cost of the final product in Russian stores. Rather, the fluctuation of the Russian ruble against the dollar plays a fundamental role in all products imported into the country, and coffee is imported at a rate of 100%,” suggesting another rise in coffee prices, and “in the coming period, coffee will turn for the Russians into an expensive pleasure,” she concludes.