Coffee Supply Isn’t Safe With Latin American Harvest Threats
- Fears mount over labor shortages in Peru, Colombia, Brazil
- ‘Entire families are leaving,’ cooperative manager says
Photographer: Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended life in unprecedented and countless ways. Now it may be coming for your coffee.
Bank closures, reduced working hours, hampered mobility and fears of contagion on farms have all raised serious concerns that there won’t be enough laborers to collect coffee beans for harvests that will soon get underway. The pressure is especially acute in Colombia, Brazil and Peru, which account for almost two thirds of world output for the smooth-tasting arabica beans.