Price of cup of coffee set to rise as Australian Cafes recover from pandemic blows

Your morning coffee order could soon cost you significantly more as Australia’s cafes aim to bounce back after Covid-19.

Australia is known for having some of the best coffee in the world, but customers could soon find their morning cup a lot more expensive.

Following a sharp increase in freight and shipping costs after Covid-19, local cafes are expected to hike up the price of coffee.

Cafe Owners and Baristas Association of Australia spokesman Sean Edwards said people could expect to pay up to $1 more per cup of coffee than they had in the past.

“It‘s probably going to be small rise in coffee. I wouldn’t say anything more than 50 cents to $1 a cup, but I think that’s definitely going to happen,” Mr Edwards said.

“As things start to open back up again, I think we’ll see it.”

‘It‘s probably going to be small rise in coffee. I wouldn’t say anything more than 50 cents to $1 a cup,’ Mr Edwards said.

The price hike is expected to hit urban areas the most after the closure of many inner-city cafes over the pandemic.

“We‘ve lost probably 20 to 25 per cent of the cafes and they probably won’t be returning for a while,” Mr Edwards said.

“That’s gonna level things out a bit so that the competition, especially in the inner city, probably wont be as high … so you’ll probably see $1 a cup going up.”

Aussies who buy a coffee every morning could be $350 worse off a year.

The price hike is expected to be particularly pronounced in urban areas following the closure of many inner-city cafes over the pandemic. Photo: iStock.

But Mr Edwards said this was proportional to the increase in price of goods faced by local coffeemakers.

The costs of importing coffee beans has shot up dramatically over the past year. The complex logistics of the pandemic have seen freight prices almost double, while severe drought in Brazil produced a significantly reduced yield of beans.

The costs of importing coffee beans has shot up dramatically for Australian businesses over the past year. Picture: Brendan Radke

Despite the looming price increase, Mr Edwards said he was confident Australians’ passion for good coffee would not be hampered.

“People are still going to judge the quality versus cheaper prices,” he said.

“You‘ll start seeing some small increases (in price) but not enough to people who are addicted to great coffee in Australia.”