Coffee prices explode: Consumers have to dig deep into their pockets!

Coffee prices explode: Consumers have to dig deep into their pockets!

Brasilien, Land - Coffee prices rise significantly in 2025. According to merkur are the prices for bean coffee, capsules and instant coffee. Between April 2024 and April 2025, the prices for bean coffee rose by 9.8 %, while ground coffee became 16.2 % more expensive. The coffee capsules, pads and bags have also been more expensive by 15.9 %, and caffeine -free coffee even by 18.4 %. On average, the price increase for coffee products is 8.3 %, which causes prices to increase at a record high.

The reasons for this price increase are complex and include complex global market mechanisms and financial speculation. In order to compensate for higher purchase prices in cafés and catering operations, these are usually passed on to the end consumers.

influences on the price situation

An essential factor behind the increasing prices is climate change that significantly influences coffee cultivation. Brazil, the largest coffee producer, is particularly affected, where extreme weather conditions such as hot summer, long dry periods and sudden floods have increased in recent years. In the second quarter of 2024, a violent drought led to a significant impairment of the harvest of Arabica plants. Vietnam, known for Robusta coffee, also experienced a long drought in the first quarter of 2024, which led to one of the weakest harvests in recent years, such as Roastmarket

The offer bottlenecks and irregular harvests continue to drive the coffee prices. In addition, new EU regulations put a strain on the production costs for coffee farmers to avoid design. This regulation came into force on June 30, 2023 and will be relevant for all products that are marketed in the EU from December 30, 2025

costs and future outlook

Currently, raw coffee costs around 4 euros per 500 g, which is an increase compared to previous years. The global supply chain problems and increasing transport costs also tighten the situation. In particular, tensions in the Middle East, which lead to shipping companies avoid the Suez Canal, further increased the transport costs. About 80 % of the coffee is speculatively traded on coffee exchanges in New York and London. Since coffee is traded in US dollars, the strength of the dollar makes imports for European buyers more expensive, explains Roastmarket .

The forecast for 2025 indicates that coffee prices will be higher than ever. The demand is growing, especially in Asia, which drives the prices. Consumers must therefore adapt to stronger price orientations to the production costs. Companies like Tchibo have already announced price increases. The general price increases are feedback on higher purchasing costs, crop failures and inflation.

In the middle of this development, the conscious handling of coffee becomes more important. The choice of sustainable and fairly traded coffee could be a way to alleviate the effects of the price increases. Fair traded organic coffee offers sustainably designed price structure and ensures minimum prices, which can benefit small farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Overall, it turns out that climate change and the market mechanisms have a significant impact on coffee prices and that they will continue to increase, which presents both coffee lovers and producers with great challenges. Further information on the topic can be found in a report on climate change in the coffee sector on Sustainable Supply chains .