Your morning cup of Joe could see a price increase as the coffee industry faces an uncertain future.
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Last week, President Trump announced new tariffs on 15 of the world’s top 20 coffee-producing countries, including 46% on beans from Vietnam, the world’s second largest exporter of coffee beans, 20% on the European Union, and 10% on countries in Central and South America.
Coffee shop Morning Light Coffee Roasters in Great Falls goes through roughly 10,000 pounds of coffee beans per year - primarily from Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.
Owner and operator Doug Evenhus says since their beans are bought in bulk, his business and their customers won’t see negative effects from tariffs until at least the end of the year, saying “We're pretty secure. So, you're not going to see your price jump up for at least 6 to 9 months, just depending on how fast we consume it.”
Evanhus says immediate factors that are affecting the business, however, are the price increases to day to day products like flavored syrups, packaging, and transportation.
Evenhus explains, “Milk, eggs, fuel prices to get my coffee beans up to Montana, you know, they're coming in to Seattle or L.A. or New York. So, what's hurting us is getting the coffee from those places to here on the high gas prices and freight charges.”
Even so, Morning Light Coffee Roasters won’t be increasing their prices for the time being, and will continue to supply their hundreds of clients with roasted beans from all over the world.
