Written by Bernie Carr
Just a quick post today, so I can share some bad news for coffee drinkers – the price for your daily cup (or three) is about to increase.
Why are coffee prices increasing?
Weather
According to Forbes, unseasonable weather during the last several months has had an impact on coffee growing:
…the real key to coffee’s future price is weather, specifically in Vietnam and Brazil, which both currently face different, but equally impactful weather issues. It’s been raining too much in Vietnam, and not quite enough in Brazil.
Source: Forbes
Shipping container shortage
Consumers who have been unable to eat out or go to restaurants in the past year started spending more money on items that have to be moved across the oceans. Manufacturers and retailers therefore needed to satisfy the demand for these goods by bulking up their inventories.
The shortage of 40-foot steel shipping containers has snarled global supply chains for commodities, hiking prices for some raw materials.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
High shipping costs
That high demand for shipping we mentioned earlier has cause overall transportation prices to rise.
Mid-sized and smaller roasters, particularly specialty coffee companies, have been hit hardest, company executives said, but even larger companies such as Peet’s and JM Smucker Co say they are coping with higher costs.
Last week, transportation backlogs helped push coffee prices to their highest in more than a year.
Source: Reuters
What can you do?
Stock up now
When I checked coffee prices at the grocery store this past weekend, they appeared to be the same as what I know them to be. However, these reports tell us that these prices are about to go up in a month or so. Now would be a good time for you to build a small stockpile. Buy them on sale and use coupons if you can for even more savings.
Buy in bulk
Make a bulk purchase at Costco or Sam’s – coffee tends to have a good shelf life, as long as the package is unopened. I stored unopened coffee packs in 5-gallon buckets about seven years ago. When I opened one, it tasted just fine. I have had expired coffee before and it turned out good.
Cut down your consumption
I never thought I could, but I was able to gradually cut my coffee intake down to one cup a day. I used to drink four cups a day, and was not willing to give it up for a long time. But one day I decided to cut back to three cups for about six months. Then I went down to two cups and stayed that way for a few years. In the past year I cut it down to one and a half, now I am down to one cup a day.
Substitute
You can get your caffeine fix by trying other alternatives.
The final word
This is only one item in a long list of other food prices that will be increasing. I expect we’ll all have sticker shock when we look at prices a month or two from now. I am definitely buying a few extra pounds of coffee now before the next price hike. Even if you are not a coffee drinker, stock up on various types of food now, especially those with a long shelf life such as rice, sugar, flour and beans, to help offset the high prices later.
Then, take the next step and store your bulk foods for long term storage. See Survival Food Storage for helpful tips and links to help you store food.
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About the author:
Bernie Carr is the founder of Apartment Prepper. She has written several books including the best-selling Prepper’s Pocket Guide, Jake and Miller’s Big Adventure, The Penny-Pinching Prepper and How to Prepare for Most Emergencies on a $50 a Month Budget. Her work appears in sites such as the Allstate Blog and Clark.com, as well as print magazines such as Backwoods Survival Guide and Prepper Survival Guide. She has been featured in national publications such as Fox Business and Popular Mechanics. Learn more about Bernie here.
