Few things have been spared from the fallout of COVID-19, not even our daily coffee.
New research has found global coffee demand is expected to fall by one million (60kg) bags in 2020.
The Coffee Outlook report, from Rabobank, estimates coffee demand will decline by 0.8%, driven by a combination of lockdown measures and large scale unemployment. Unsurprisingly, out-of-home consumption is likely to be hardest hit.
The declines were also found to vary across the world. In the US, it’s expected to fall by 2%, while in Europe, it’s estimated at a more modest 0.5% decline, much of this concentrated in the UK. The differing scale of the hit is calculated on the amount of economic support available to those facing unemployment.
In brighter news, the report found global production levels were on track, with the exception of Brazil, where there has been a high number of cases and which may result in a labour shortage in the coming months.
Global coffee prices are also expected to fall, which will be welcomed news to Australian cafes hoping to recover from the economic toll of lockdown measures, however the fall is not expected to be significant enough to result in a cheaper flat white for consumers.