Will There Be A Coffee Shortage? Duluth/Superior Don’t PANIC!
You don't really have to panic, although most of my friends will. The Northland is full of so many coffee drinkers, this may be hard.
Here's why, it's not really a Pandemic thing, but it is. According to Business Insider, there is a drought in Brazil. When there is a drought, there are fewer crops, add to that there is a hold-up in the shipping ports. So that makes the stockpiles in the US hit all-time lows. Some of the coffee shops like Roasters are relying on their reserves before they raise prices.
Business Insider says the drought will affect crops now and crops next year. Compounding the problem is some ships aren't available to take harvested crops to places where they are in demand, so that causes back-ups and delays. They are reporting that prices have gone up in New York. The problem we run into next is prices going up because demand will not go down.
The Hearty Soul is blaming Global Warming for the hot temperatures. They are saying we may run out of coffee. I'm not sure that is true, but we will start dipping into reserves for sure. They are reporting that farmers will try different beans that can withstand hotter temps, but they will taste different, and poor farmers will have to cut down on what they grow and turn to cheap coffee beans just to make ends meet and keep the farm open.
Here's why I don't think we will run out. The Hearty Soul is reporting that some of the bigger companies have begun to grow and purchase coffee from other regions and countries like Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. It's hard for me to think that companies don't have huge reserves for situations like this anyway.
Prices will go up for sure, but I don't think we will run out.