How much will the price of coffee rise (again)?

Coffee is sold 4-6% more on the shelves of supermarket chains, while in restaurants there have been increases ranging from 5% to 20%. However, individual professionals, especially in the region, have raised prices by up to 33%.

Espresso coffee in a plastic cup now costs from 1.80 to 2.30 euros when in the summer its price ranged from 1.50 to 2 euros, while in terms of coffee served at establishments from 2.80 - 3 euros the prices have risen to 3 , 30-3.70 euros, while depending on the area it can top 4 euros.

But we still haven't seen anything! Ongoing increases in all costs, from raw materials and shipping fares to energy bills and the purchase of packaging materials, as well as the additional costs of removing disposable plastics that will come into our lives from 1 January 2022, bring in the next period a new wave of revaluations.

Professionals in the industry talk about new higher burdens, both in operating costs (energy, packaging materials, etc.), and in raw materials. In the wholesale prices of coffee, the increase is 15%, as they say, emphasizing that in the previous months they had absorbed a large part of the burden, proceeding with small increases of 10-12%.

Even companies that have not raised prices, mainly due to the fact that they had stocks of raw materials, but also the margins to absorb the increased production costs, will do so immediately. Cheaper stocks are running out, while higher energy costs make price hikes inevitable, as further absorption of increases puts at risk the profitability that has already been hit by the restrictive measures.

"An increase of 20-30 minutes in take away coffee is not prohibitive, but surely someone will reconsider if they want to buy the second or third in the day," says a cafe owner...