Soaring price of cappuccino. After the high price of coffee, here comes more alarming data for the 5.5 million Italians who have breakfast at the bar every day. In three years, cappuccino has increased by 14%, well over two euros a cup in some cities. As with espresso, the main reason for the price increases is the skyrocketing cost of the raw material, driven by drought and therefore limited production.
Today the average cost of a cappuccino (Assoutenti data) is 1.59 euros. In 2021 it was 1.39 euros. Among the most expensive cities at the top is Bolzano (2.17 euros, but several cases also of 2.50 euros) followed by Palermo (1.87 euros) and Trieste (1.80 euros). The greatest increase is recorded in Pescara (+28.1% in three years, from 1.28 euros to 1.64 euros), Naples (+27.5%) and Bolzano (+24%). The cheapest cappuccino is in Catanzaro (1.28 euros and the maximum reached is 1.50 euros), in Rome (1.32 euros) and Florence (1.41 euros). Prices that fall on the pockets of over 5 million Italians accustomed to having breakfast at the bar. 27% of Italians choose it in the morning. Cappuccino is the most popular coffee drink abroad on the way to work: 40% in Germany, 36% in France.
Cappuccino prices are growing, as are espresso prices, which are sailing towards 2 euros per cup and today, with an average of 1.20 euros, it already costs 15% more than in 2021. Why? Raw material prices are soaring. The price of Robusta coffee quality has increased by +80% in a year (around 4,820 dollars per ton), Arabica has more than doubled: +66% in a year (5,700 dollars per ton). Prices are soaring primarily due to climate change. The drought in Vietnam and Brazil (the world’s top two producers of the bean that then ends up in our cups and mugs) has led to a sharp contraction in supply. Added to this is the strengthening of the dollar against the euro, which has affected the cost of coffee by +4%. Finally, there is the Red Sea crisis which, by lengthening transport times, has also led to an increase in the cost of raw materials. Consequences? Spending has doubled in the last year for coffee-importing countries.
The reaction is then a chain reaction. Higher costs for producers, for the trade and processing chain and for public operators. Everything hits consumers directly. “Price increases that, at this rate if we also consider the trend of coffee, could change the habits of Italians, considering that today 5.5 million Italians have breakfast every day in one of the many bars located throughout our country”, explains the president of Assoutenti Gabriele Melluso.
