Price of coffee set to rise

Due to the intensely dry weather in the United States and Brazil, the price of coffee beans, among other goods, is skyrocketing.

Research from ABN Amro shows that the price of coffee rose by 59 percent in the first quarter of 2014. The bank states that coffee has not been this expensive in any two years and that it could even rise higher this year. The actual effects of the extreme drought will only be noticeable when the coffee harvest starts in May and June.

Along with coffee, the disastrous weather is also having an effect on oranges. The World Bank has published data that shows the price of oranges have risen by 28 percent in the first quarter of this year. A citrus disease has affected the American orange harvest, driving up the price of orange juice, US media reports this month.

Wheat is also suffering from the weather, prices rising by 15 percent according to ABN Amro economists.

Hans van Cleef, economist from ABN Amro, says that supermarkets and shops will not be able to avoid having to calculate the rising prices into the prices of these goods. Coffee suppliers have fewer possibilities to influence the prices.