Prices for high-end arabica coffee beans touched nine-year highs Monday with turmoil in Africa adding to crop woes in South America and skyrocketing costs for farmers.
Ethiopia, the world’s third biggest grower of arabica beans, is in the throes of civil war, with government forces battling rebels from the northern Tigray region. Curfews were recently imposed in the Oromia region, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns Friday that the African nation could implode.
“Several other factors continue to pressure prices upwards, particularly those that affect coffee flow such as limited vessel space, access to the Brazilian port of Santos and the growing risk of potential defaults in Colombia,” said Jorge Cuevas, chief coffee officer for Sustainable Harvest, an importer in Oregon.
