Tag Archive for: Ethiopia

Coffee under threat

There could be a caffeine shortage

Climate change could push up the price of our beloved addiction coffee, prices might rise as the temperature does.

The price of coffee is likely to go up as the land where the coffee is farmed might not be suitable for the coffee to grow.

Ethiopia is the birthplace and the biggest exporter of Arabica coffee beans, but according to a report in Nature Plants today, the production of the bean could be under threat unless action is taken.

Basically we are drinking a lot more coffee than we are producing and so far the manufacturer’s have enough coffee saved up from previous years to continue to drink it as normal – which means we’ve avoided a price hike or a shortage altogether.

However the long term outlook is causing greater cause for concern. Scientists from London’s Kew Gardens have said that if action is taken, a coffee shortage could be avoided – 2 possible solutions are: the relocation of coffee-growing areas and forest conservation.

A combination of the two could avoid a coffee shortage, therefore avoiding the human population having a major meltdown due a lack of their caffeine fix!