Starbucks coffee went up despite coffee price decline

Mornings are never the same without a steaming, hot brewed coffee to perk you up especially at a good price.

The price of coffee beans have been trimmed by nearly half from their peak.  Many caterers have passed on the savings to their customers, except Starbucks.

During the first week of July, Starbucks declared that it would increase the price of its drinks of its stores in most part of the US, and part of Canada, despite decline in coffee price.   The company responded by saying that the labor cost, as well as the rent, had both risen and forced it to hike the price it charged for its coffee. 

The company did not specify what exactly are the drinks that will be affected by the hike because it charge different prices in different regions of the country.  It has increased prices on different products for at least the past three years, but the spokesperson of Starbucks Lisa Passe said that this is the first increase in two years "for the majority of impacted beverages, such as brewed coffee and grande latte."

Coffee becomes out of stock because of the drought and "rust" in some of the world's major coffee producing areas.  The coffee rust is caused by a fungus called la roya.  This type of fungus spread widely in Sri Lanka back in 1860 implementing the destruction of all coffee plantations and instead grew tea.

The reason the price of the coffee in spite of the drought and "rust" is because Brazil was able to sustain the deficiency in the coffee supply and Brazilian harvest is the largest in the world.

The release stated that the harvest would be 20% to 30% below the prevailing estimate of 45 million bags.  Another report says that only 8% to 12% of the harvest would pass the 17 screen grade compared to the typical 20%-30%.  Coffee that passes 17 screen grade is in high demand for export from Brazil.