Crops in top producer Brazil have suffered worst drought in almost a century. A surge in green coffee prices may soon begin percolating into costs paid by consumers for their daily caffeine fix, in the latest sign of how hot commodity markets are affecting the broader global economy. Coffee bean prices on international markets have surged as crops in top producer Brazil have been damaged by the worst drought in almost a century, leading to the first supply shortfall in the coffee market in four years. Anti-government protests in Colombia halted exports earlier this year, further pushing up markets. Is there going to be a shortage of coffee in 2021? Global coffee consumption is expected to exceed production this year for the first time since 2017, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The department expects 165 million bags of beans to be consumed in 2021. That is 1.8 million bags more than last year. At the start of June, the futures benchmark in New York for arabica, the high- H end coffee bean, hit a four and a half year high of almost $1.70 (E1.44) a pound, up almost 70 per cent from a year before. Source: 'Why your cup of coffee could be about to jump in price', Irish Times 7 July 2021, https://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusiness-and-food/why-your-cup-of- coffee-could-be-about-to-jump-inprice