Coffee lovers beware. A drought in Brazil, one of the world's largest exporters of coffee, may lead to a drought of coffee as well.
As the drought in Brazil continues to plague over 140 cities in the country, analysts are growing increasingly worried about a global coffee shortage in the coming months. Considering that Brazil is responsible for producing approximately one third of the world's total coffee, the tidings do not bode well for coffee lovers around the world.
Brazillian news agencies have already reported that 142 cities in 11 states are already suffering from a shortage of water. In fact, many of the country's water reservoirs, rivers and likes have experienced the worse reduction of water levels in the past 20 years. While urban cities are currently dealing with water rationing, Brazilian farmers are bearing the brunt of the problem.
"The regions where we plant coffee today, especially the ones on lower elevations, will be getting hotter," said EMBRAPA agro-climatologist Hilton Silveira Pinto. "And many of the coffee plantations in these areas will probably have to be abandoned." EMBRAPA is the the Brazilian government agency in charge of agriculture.
Pinto is also worried that the problem can only worsen. He expects that the country could suffer a 10 percent reduction in coffee crop quantities by 2020 is the current trends continue. Meanwhile, coffee prices are steadily rising as the supply is diminishing.
As Brazilian coffee farmers grapple with the problems brought about by the drought, coffee shops around the world are also feeling the effects of the rising prices of coffee.
"What we are really seeing as a company as we look 10, 20, 30 years down the road - if conditions continue as they are - is a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean," said Starbucks sustainability director Jim Hanna said.
Many coffee companies are trying to reach out to the coffee farmers that supply their products. Hanna has also indicated that Starbucks is already collaborating with their coffee suppliers in an effort to soften the possible effects of the drought.
"If we sit by and wait until the impacts of climate change are so severe that is impacting our supply chain then that puts us at a greater risk," he said. "From a business perspective we really need to address this now, and to look five, 10, and 20 years down the road."
