Espresso is getting more expensive in Ukraine, and the cost of coffee beans is breaking world records
7 January 09:42
In 2024, the average price of a cup of coffee in Ukraine went up by 11 percent and cost 31 hryvnias. This is evidenced by the Espresso Index, a large-scale study of the average cost of a cup of coffee in Ukraine, which the Opendatabot platform conducts in conjunction with the Ukrainian restaurant automation company Poster POS, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The study recorded how the average cost of espresso in Ukraine has changed in recent years. For example, in 2017 and 2018, it was 15 hryvnias, in 2019 – 17, 2020 – 18, 2021 – 19, 2022 – 23, 2023 – 28, in 2024 – 31 hryvnias, the average cost of a cup of coffee.
As of the end of December, the most expensive coffee in Ukraine, as in 2023, was available in Odesa region: 40 hryvnias per cup. In just one year, the price in the region has increased by 20%. In the Lviv region, a cup of espresso was not much cheaper at 39 UAH. The third place in the coffee ranking went to Volyn region, where a cup of espresso cost 37 UAH in December.
The cheapest coffee over the past two years has been in Khmelnytsky and Sumy regions: 28 UAH per cup.
The price of espresso in Vinnytsia region increased the most over the year, by 29%, to UAH 31 per cup. Only in Kharkiv region did the price of a cup of coffee remain unchanged at UAH 34.
Espresso is the main component of every coffee drink, so its price directly affects the price of any drink in a coffee shop. And the price of espresso cannot but be affected by the cost of coffee beans.
World prices for coffee beans are breaking records
Last year, the price of Arabica coffee soared by 80%, reaching a record high in more than 50 years. As Bloomberg explains, the main reason for the price increase is unfavorable weather conditions in the producing countries.
Severe drought in Brazil, which is the world’s leading Arabica producer, and drought in Vietnam, the largest supplier of cheaper Robusta, have done their job, as fears about future supplies have increased, and with them the price of coffee beans.
As reported by Bloomberg, major trader Volcafe Ltd. predicted that global coffee production will fall by 8.5 million bags in the 2025-26 season, marking an unprecedented fifth year of shortages.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that China has become a new and rapidly developing consumer market.
“Coffee production is finding it difficult to meet growing demand” amid rising consumption in China, and the concentration of production in a few countries, including Brazil and Vietnam, makes the commodity particularly vulnerable to adverse weather conditions,” says Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
The coffee price race could significantly increase costs for roasters and cafes, which may have to pass them on to consumers. In fact, Bloomberg already states that, faced with pressure, sellers have already raised prices and canceled discounts to protect their margins. For example, coffee giant Nestle SA said in November that it would raise prices and reduce packaging to mitigate the impact of rising coffee bean prices.
