The coffee It is, along with mate, the best friend of workers who get up early every day and of unprepared students at night. In the last year, the characteristic aroma of the classic stimulating infusion with caffeine became more common in Uruguayan homes, but also more expensive.
The price of coffee increased almost 14% from last September to Januaryaccording to the disaggregated data of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Since the pandemic began in March 2020 to January of this year, coffee has become 25% more expensive. Meanwhile, the infusions that compete for prominence in the mornings and afternoons of the Uruguayans showed a smaller increase —20% tea and 10% yerba—.
At the same time, inflation in that 22-month period reached 15.5%so that Making a mate is relatively cheaper than before in real terms, which is not the case with coffee and tea.
In the case of coffee, its price followed a flat path very in step with that of yerba mate until September 2021, when both had increased 10% in a year and a half. However, since then, the value of coffee advanced almost an additional 14% and surpassed by a margin the growth that both yerba mate and tea had been showing.
In 2021, coffee consumption skyrocketed and 66% more was imported than in 2019, before the pandemic. Instead, approximately the same amount of yerba was brought from abroadafter rising 5% in 2020. Regarding tea, Uruguayans have maintained their level of consumption in recent years, albeit with ups and downs.
Coffee had an appreciation close to 50% in 8 months in the international market, according to the index prepared by the International Coffee Organization (ICO).
In dialogue with The Observerthe entrepreneur of the field Rudolph Catino said be sure consumer prices will continue to grow, but “it will not be a big increase”. Catino —in addition to being a director of Peñarol— is the president of Cafemax, the second importer of the grain in the country and the exclusive distributor in Uruguay of the Italian firm Lavazza.
The executive explained that “there are several components that impact the international rise of green coffee (that is, unprocessed). The Sea freight they influence the raw materials and, in the case of coffee, it has a great influence. The issues of the pandemic have made the entire market complicated“, lament.
In addition, he pointed out that the exchange rate is another element to take into account. The aurinegro director indicated that “if the dollar goes from $36 to $40 and some, like last year, you have to raise the price. Imagine that they are imported products, coffee is not planted in Uruguay, “she justified.
For the president of Cafemax the sharp increases in international values will not be reflected with such intensity in Uruguayan gondolas because “the final product is made up in part by the raw material, but there are also a lot of other components: labor, transportation, packaging…” that do not depend on international prices or the dollar.
Therefore, “a 14% increase in the final product (as has happened in recent months) means a much higher increase in the price of raw materials, perhaps 30%, 40% or 50% (as has also happened). Catino said.
The Observer also contacted Nestle —the main importing company, behind 63.5% of the value of the coffee that enters the local market— but was unable to get it to communicate its perspectives on prices in time for the closing of this article.
Of the almost 2.5 million kg of coffee that arrived in Uruguay in 2021, the main origin was Brazil (45%), followed by Colombia (20%) and Guatemala (9%).
an environmental problem
There are two plants responsible for almost all of the world’s coffee production: variety arabic —of higher quality— and the species robustmore bitter taste.
In the long term, Catino envisions that “We are going to have to consume less and less Arabica coffee and more and more Robusta coffee.“. The reason is global warming.
“There is a climatic issue that is very important in coffee and that is that there is less and less high-quality coffee due to the melting of the mountains due to the global warming“, commented the president of Cafemax.
Catino explained that “good coffee grows between 1,000 and 1,500 meters high and at a certain temperature. As the Earth is beginning to heat up, each time more of those plants are disappearing and therefore pure Arabica is increasingly more expensive. He added that this occurs in a context in which Uruguayans are choosing to consume more quality coffee.
Even though the environmental issue is a minor component of recent increases, mostly due to freight costs, it is a factor that will weigh more and more over time, according to Catino.
Stable yerba, tea on the rise
On the other hand, according to industry sources consulted by El Observador, yerba —whose price remained stable— would continue unchanged. The typical Uruguayan infusion had a strong increase in its retail price when in August 2013 it surpassed the psychological barrier of $100 per kg. Today it is at an average of $183 per kg, according to the INE.
“The current situation is not affecting the price, especially since theyerba mate is all imported from Brazil”, so high shipping rates are not a problem, one source explained.
Instead, “which yes you can have increases is the tea, depending on the origins of the raw materials”, said an actor in the field. As he explained, there are some herbs that are imported from European countries where all international freight rates have been increased in dollars From a few months ago. “Based on that, some prices have had to be adjusted,” he said.
