New Orleans coffee prices rise as tariffs affect roasters | Business News

Louisiana coffee roasters are raising prices as tariffs make it more expensive to import coffee beans, adding to recent challenges for a local industry tied to the globally traded commodity.

J.M. Smucker Co., which roasts coffee for Folgers, Dunkin’ and Café Bustelo at its facilities in New Orleans and employs nearly 700 workers, said in June that it planned to increase prices in response to the 10% tax on all imports that President Donald Trump announced in April.

Baton Rouge-based Community Coffee said Wednesday that the rise in prices for green coffee beans, which it roasts before selling to consumers, forced it last month to increase what it charges. And French Truck Coffee, the New Orleans-based chain with locations in Baton Rouge and Memphis, Tennessee, told customers on Monday it was adding a temporary 4% surcharge on all in-store coffee-related purchases. 

“We chose this approach so that if the tariffs are lifted in the future, we can quickly adjust or remove this charge —something we wouldn’t be able to do with permanent price increases,” French Truck wrote in its email to customers.

The well-known brands with big operations in Louisiana echoed moves by other local and national firms in recent months. Americans’ coffee habit depends almost exclusively on imported beans. Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer, supplies about 30% of the American market, followed by Colombia at roughly 20% and Vietnam at about 10%, according to federal data. 

Roasters often purchase beans months, or even a year, in advance, and many rushed to stock up before Trump’s April tariffs went into effect.

Now, those stockpiles are running low and importers say many of their customers are bracing for even higher prices if Trump’s threats of additional tariffs on major coffee producers like Brazil go into effect.

“We’re starting to buy more, and now we’re seeing those tariff line items,” said Patrick Brennan, owner of Congregation Coffee, which operates a roastery on Tchoupitoulas Street and a cafe on the West Bank.

“I’ve been holding off on a lot of price increases just to see what actually ends up happening,” Brennan said. “But we’re hitting the point soon, you know, where we’re going to have to make a decision.”

Lauren Fink, owner of Cherry Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee roastery with cafes in both Gretna and New Orleans, said she was hopeful that trade negotiations would ultimately spare coffee beans. She held off on raising prices on bags of roasted beans until May, when it became clear that the rising costs to run her business weren’t going to subside.

“Nobody likes to see prices increase, but we’re also a business,” Fink said. “It’s unfortunate we can’t eat that.”

Brazil tariff threats

Trump administration officials have argued that tariffs will ultimately result in better trade deals and bring industries like manufacturing back to the U.S.

Thus far only a handful of trade deals have been reached. Earlier this month, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods beginning Aug. 1, citing the country’s treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing charges of trying to overturn an election loss.

“You cannot understate the effect that it will have on coffee,” said Drew Cambre, sustainability manager at International Coffee Corp., a green coffee importer based in Metairie. “It will be unfeasible for most coffee companies to purchase Brazilian coffee if the 50% tariff is charged.”

“Chances are people won’t seen increases in price at the register for a month or two because it takes time for a coffee to get on a boat at its country of origin and make the voyage,” Cambre said. 

Coffee is the largest containerized import commodity at the Port of New Orleans, amounting to about 16,000 containers a year. Around 42% of those imports come from Brazil, said Kimberly Curth, a spokesperson for Port NOLA. Coffee imports have been slowing in recent months, Curth said, noting that ports elsewhere are experiencing similar drops.

Even before tariffs, coffee prices have been at historic highs, primarily due to weather conditions in Brazil and Vietnam that affected the crop in those countries.

Clarke Cadzow, owner of Highland Coffees in Baton Rouge, which has yet to raise its prices, said in an email that “tariff concerns just add another layer of stress and anxiety to coffee importers, roasters, and retailers in the US as we try to keep our prices low but figure out what we need to charge to cover our costs.”

Only a fraction of the coffee offered at Highland comes from Brazil. Still, Cadzow said, it is “popular among customers,” and if the cost of Brazilian coffee goes up considerably, it will cause demand for beans from other regions to spike, raising prices.

Higher prices could push more customers to try and roast their coffee at home, Cambre said.

Catherine Mansell, director of products and programs at Current Crop Roasting Shop on Magazine Street, a “retail store focused on at-home, do-it-yourself coffee education,” said they’ve seen an uptick in recent months in customers interested in home roasting as a way to save money.

The shop has around 75 different beans from all over the world, and roasting stations that allow customers to roast beans themselves. Green coffee typically is around half the price of roasted coffee.

“It gives you a chance to play around with different roast levels and play around with regions or countries that you haven’t had before to really find your perfect cup of coffee,” Mansell said.

Still, the shop isn’t immune to market changes.

Mansell said they used to be able to purchase coffee beans on 12-month contracts. Now, the furthest out they can buy is three months.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.