Is There Really A Worldwide Coffee Shortage Coming? Drought In Brazil Brings Fear To Non-Morning People

Many across the globe really do not know how to begin their daily routine or workday until they have had that first (or fifth) cup of coffee. Well, it’s been rumored for a while now, but a worldwide coffee shortage could be here before anyone realizes it. A severe drought in Brazil is not helping the situation, and it may end up making non-morning people freak out a little bit.

The threat of a global coffee shortage has been around for over a year now, but an actual shortage has yet to come about. At least, not in the United States.

A new report from the Foreign Agricultural Service is stating that the incredibly severe drought in Brazil this year has caused the country to lose almost five million bags of coffee. Some may begin to panic, but there really isn’t a reason to get in a tizzy just yet.

Your coffee may not be going anywhere and you may not have to slow down in your cups per day, despite the losses in Brazil.

According to AG Week, the loss of coffee production in Brazil has been offset due to other countries having bumper crops this year. Honduras, Indonesia, and Vietnam are also major coffee producers and exporters, and 2015 has been good enough for them to help out and make the industry as a whole not worry so much about the problems in Brazil.

In the United States, coffee stocks are expected to remain unchanged from what they were about a year ago. The U.S. is the world’s second-largest coffee importer behind the European Union, and there are no problems there, either.

The world’s coffee consumption is growing, though, and that is going to call for an increase in the importance of good crops of coffee in Brazil. As long as this drought continues, production is likely going to suffer. Eventually, it could cause a problem around the world.

Brazil is the single source of about one-third of all the world’s coffee. Even with the drought at such severe levels, Brazil is still managing to get out about 50 million bags each year. By comparison, Vietnam is the number two country and barely produces half of that number.

When one country has that degree of production, any kind of slack in output could hamper things a bit. If there is a prolonged decrease in production, then it will eventually end up affecting the supply around the world.

For now, world coffee production totals are coming in slightly above what they were last year. Thanks to other countries picking up the slack, only Brazil is having a major problem with the drought and losing millions upon millions of bags of coffee.

Honduras, Indonesia, and Vietnam having a bigger crop is helping to make up for the loss from Brazil. That’s keeping the drought in Brazil from having a severe effect on the supply of coffee in the rest of the world.

The problem is, the extra production from those three countries can’t be expected to continue each and every year. Right now, they’re breaking coffee production records, but how long can that last?

Coffee drinkers of the world can remain calm, as there really won’t be a worldwide shortage. At least, there won’t be a shortage any time soon, but coffee companies and consumers should continue to hope that the drought in Brazil ends soon. If not, then it is only a matter of time until one country’s problems become a global concern.

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