Time To Panic, The World Is Slowly Running Out Of Coffee
The mushrooming of cafes in Asia has a major part to play.
By John Lim — 17 Feb 2016, 01:12 PM
A major coffee crisis is brewing - the world could be facing a massive coffee shortage.
Cue the panic attack.
According to a video posted on online news site AJ+, a global shortage of coffee is inevitable due to high demand and lack of supply
In the video that was posted on 15 February 2016, it highlights figures which suggest that while world demand for coffee is increasing, supply is down. In Costa Rica alone, coffee exports for January 2016 were down by 20%.
One major takeaway from the video is that cafes in Asia have grown by nearly 15% in 2015!
Artisan Coffee in Section 13, PJ is just one of the many cafes in Klang Valley.
Image via GreentearedbeanThe mushrooming of coffee shops has spread all over Asia. To put that into perspective, the number of coffee shops in Klang Valley, Jakarta, Singapore, and other major cities in Asia are rapidly increasing.
So, why is there a decrease in the supply of coffee?
Droughts in Brazil and other parts of the world have made harvesting coffee beans more difficult. Climate change could threaten as much as a quarter of Brazil’s output, according to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.
time.com
There is believed to be a direct correlation between the warm season (worsened in the region by climate change) and coffee leaf rust, a form of fungus that can destroy coffee crops.
Brazil, the world’s foremost coffee supplier, lost almost five million bags of coffee due to the country’s punishing, ongoing drought!
Brazil typically supplies 50 million bags per annum, a severe and ongoing drought cut its coffee production by a whopping 5 million bags last year. As the South American nation produces one-third of the world's coffee, any shortfall is going to be felt around the world.
sciencealert.com
Aside from climate change, coffee farmers are giving up their farms in favour of more profitable and stable livelihoods in cities. They make as little as USD3 a day, who could blame them?
Low wages are often a major problem for coffee farmers. During the harvest, farmers get paid for how much coffee they pick. They can make as little as 3USD (RM12) per day in places such as Nicaragua, even though the minimum wage is, in theory, close to 6USD (RM25).
dailycoffeenews.com
Exploitation of coffee farmers has been an ongoing concern for many human right groups, as they are often found working in terrible working conditions
Farmworkers commonly face unsafe working conditions in coffee fields. For example, not having the right protection equipment for work is very common, especially outside of Brazil.
Having to bring your own rain boots, improvised ponchos (using plastic bags), and even your own machetes is very common. In coffee fields where you can find snakes, spiders or fire ants in many places, not having the right equipment can be a tremendous hazard for workers.
dailycoffeenews.com
If conditions don't get better for the farmers and climate, a global shortage of coffee could really well be on its way!
