It’s all about 3p
I have just looked at what has caused me unease over the last few months. The fact that a container of coffee from Brazil (this time) last year was about $100-120,000 is now over $180,000. That looks alarming. It would be if we didn’t step back and consider our situation. Over the last 12 years, we have put blends up to trade by £2 a kilo. In that time wages have doubled, gas has increased by 600%, electric by 400% and no one likes to mention insurance.
As a trade customer, I am happy to chat with you and be completely open about the situation we are now in. It’s not just James Gourmet; it is the world’s coffee market. We are fortunate that we buy ahead, and we are currently sharing that cushion with you that will soon deflate.
When the market increases dramatically, we don’t suddenly become selfish either. As our long-term suppliers, diamonds like Claiton from Sitio Maranhao and the Delgados from Vargem Grande can’t just be paid the commodity rate, even if it is a little higher than normal. Their crops are a fraction of normal volume and it is times like these when we need each other as human-scaled, heart-centred businesses.
It is not all bad news. Coffee has just exceeded the price it peaked in 1973. As an industry, we have been led and driven by a market system that keeps many producers impoverished.
By my workings, our next coffees from Brazil will cost about £1.75 a kilo more than they currently are/ have been.
