Australian coffee growers hope high global prices open gap in the market

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The price of coffee beans is at its highest point in nearly half a century, as bad weather limits production overseas. But Australian growers may not be benefiting from the global shortage.

Transcript

00:00If you're anything like me, you simply can't start your day without a caffeine hit.

00:07But you might have noticed the price of that shot of coffee is getting more expensive.

00:12That price hike is being driven by bad weather in Brazil and Vietnam, where most of the world's

00:17coffee comes from.

00:19Roasters, like the one I'm in, largely import their beans from overseas.

00:24In fact, less than half of 1% of the coffee Australians drink is grown here in Australia.

00:30So, with that global price so high, some roasters and cafes are now looking for other options.

00:38People in particular, industry, were saying, well, why don't we have something available

00:43locally, domestically, and a product that we can offer?

00:47But growers are telling me they can barely keep up with demand as is, let alone expand.

00:54That's partly because coffee requires really specific growing conditions to thrive.

00:59In Australia, it only grows in northern New South Wales and parts of Queensland.

01:04And that land is becoming increasingly expensive.

01:08Labor also pushes production costs up.

01:11So even with the global price of coffee so high, it's still more expensive to buy beans

01:16here in Australia than it is to import them from overseas.

01:20So what can be done to expand the Australian industry?

01:24Well, some growers are putting in more plants.

01:27Sherelle, who owns this roastery, is putting in her own trees to see how coffee grows here

01:32on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

01:35But as with any crop, it'll be a few years yet before there are any actual beans.

01:41So whether you're buying it from a cafe or direct from the roaster, it could still be

01:45some time before you're drinking coffee that was grown here in Australia.

01:50For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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