Global Warming Seen as Threat to Coffee Production

My thanks to good friend and long-time reader Dave L. for suggesting the idea for this post.

Just about everyone on the planet has heard of global warming; some are convinced that it indeed exists and is taking place even now, others are not so sure. But what would be the effects of, for example, even a half a degree increase in temperature on coffee production?

According to an organization called the Union of Concerned Scientists, a rise in global temperature of even half a degree would result in a long-term increase in the number of extreme and unseasonable rainfalls, negatively affecting coffee growing in the area. In India, for example, coffee production declined by 30 per cent between 2002 and 2011.  

Adding to the problem is that this apparent rise in temperature is increasing the range and habitat of the coffee berry borer, a pest that feeds off of coffee plants. Along with a destructive fungus called coffee rust, which previously did not survive the cool mountain weather that coffee likes best, these threats are contributing to lower coffee yields in Costa Rica, India and Ethiopia.

There is a dramatic decline in coffee production in places like East and Central Africa, Latin America, India and Indonesia. Supply shortages are translating into higher coffee prices here at home as well: Brands like Maxwell House, Folgers and Yuban have increased the price of many retail grinds by as much as 25 per cent. 

More on the topic of global warming and coffee production soon.