Heavy Rain Hammering Coffee Crops

As Central America is battered by downpours, the weather is taking a heavy toll on the region’s coffee growers. With the harvest about to begin, wind is knocking leaves off coffee trees, leaving unripe berries unprotected. Ripe berries are ruined by landing on soaking ground. Soon, your morning cup may cost more, the Wall Street Journal reports: Coffee futures have jumped 5.7% following a nine-month low this month.

Yesterday, the commodity reached $2.36 per pound on one exchange. Prices are "headed back to the $2.70 area," an analyst says. With arabica coffee supplies down 60% since 2009 in exchange-certified warehouses, farmers had hoped for a good year. Instead, both supplies and coffee transportation have been hurt by the rains. “When it rains like this, we can't cut,” says one farmer. Click to read about the climate concerns of Starbucks. (More coffee stories.)