Arabica Vs. Robusta Coffee Spread
The move towards cheaper coffee drinks has shifted the normal balance of supply and demand by closing the gap between Robusta and Arabica coffee beans. Coffee blenders have been using more Robusta in their blends to try and hold consumer prices down. This shift picked up steam after last summer’s Arabica prices soared due to the weak Columbian Arabica harvest. This shift has caused Arabica’s premium over Robusta to decline from $1.45 per pound at the end of last year to around $.70 currently. Much of the recent gains came from a weak Vietnamese Robusta harvest.