Why don't Australians source more coffee from the Asia-Pacific region?
Australia imports most of its coffee from Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam and Honduras. (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser)
In Australia, where coffee culture runs deep, consumers have been warned the price of their morning latte could rise to $8 or even double digits.
The root of the problem can be traced to the other side of the world.
Brazil — the world's largest producer of Australia's favoured coffee bean arabica — has faced extreme weather in recent years, including droughts, excessive rainfall, and temperature shifts that have slashed harvests.
"Exporters aren't hoarding coffee to inflate prices," said Candy MacLaughlin, a coffee grower and industry expert.
"There's a genuine shortage looming because supply isn't keeping up with demand."
The root of the problem can be traced to the other side of the world.
Brazil — the world's largest producer of Australia's favoured coffee bean arabica — has faced extreme weather in recent years, including droughts, excessive rainfall, and temperature shifts that have slashed harvests.
"Exporters aren't hoarding coffee to inflate prices," said Candy MacLaughlin, a coffee grower and industry expert.
"There's a genuine shortage looming because supply isn't keeping up with demand."
Global coffee bean prices have soared in recent years. (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser)
This has led Brazil's green arabica coffee bean prices to rise by 112 per cent in 2024, according to traders, with flow-on effects to all types of coffee.
In 2022, Australia sourced most of its coffee from Brazil, followed by Colombia, Vietnam and Honduras, according to UN data.
And while Australia is surrounded by coffee-growing countries like Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Caleb Holstein, co-founder of coffee roasters Greensquare, explains that "it's not as simple as going to a different origin for a better price".
'Scaling up is hard'
In Indonesia, the world's fourth-largest coffee producer, farmers like Eti Sumiati of Satrea Wanoja coffee are striving to improve quality and yield.
"I started with 20 hectares and six people in a cooperative," said Ms Sumiati.
"We pick and process everything by hand to ensure quality, but scaling up is hard."
Intan Taufik, a fermentation expert at the Bandung Institute of Technology, is helping Indonesian growers remove unwanted microbes during processing.
He points to another reason why Australians aren't looking closer to home to source more of its coffee.
Source: ABC NEWS Australia
In 2022, Australia sourced most of its coffee from Brazil, followed by Colombia, Vietnam and Honduras, according to UN data.
And while Australia is surrounded by coffee-growing countries like Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Caleb Holstein, co-founder of coffee roasters Greensquare, explains that "it's not as simple as going to a different origin for a better price".
'Scaling up is hard'
In Indonesia, the world's fourth-largest coffee producer, farmers like Eti Sumiati of Satrea Wanoja coffee are striving to improve quality and yield.
"I started with 20 hectares and six people in a cooperative," said Ms Sumiati.
"We pick and process everything by hand to ensure quality, but scaling up is hard."
Intan Taufik, a fermentation expert at the Bandung Institute of Technology, is helping Indonesian growers remove unwanted microbes during processing.
He points to another reason why Australians aren't looking closer to home to source more of its coffee.
Source: ABC NEWS Australia
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