The folks at Equal Exchange asked us to pass on this message to our members and customers explaining why it has become necessary for them to increase prices on their high quality, ethically traded coffees:

Farmers have increasingly been facing higher costs, including both agricultural inputs and the cost of labor. The cost of green coffee beans has been increasing over the last year, and has affected the whole market; the impact is not limited to only a few coffee producing origin countries, nor is it limited to only certain niche markets.

Climate Change and Extreme Weather:
We continue to hear from farmers that climate change is affecting weather and therefore is disrupting once-predictable conditions and patterns that affect coffee production. The impact of various extreme and unusual weather patterns has reduced crop quantities both on individual farms, and collectively across the farmer co-ops Equal Exchange purchase from.

Overall, the specialty coffee market has become increasingly competitive as demand has grown for excellent and responsibly-sourced coffee, and Equal Exchange has already been paying farmers well above the commodity price and even above our guaranteed minimum price. By raising our prices and paying more for the coffee, we are continuing to invest in securing our supply of coffee beans, our relationships, and the strength of small farmer co-ops.

Effective October 15th:
Regular Coffee will be $11.39/lb.
Decaf Coffee will be $13.99/lb.

Thank you for your understanding and your ongoing support of Hungry Hollow Co-op and Equal Exchange.