Coffee’s 94% Rally Finally Hits the Last Holdouts for Demand

  • Early signs point to weakness in Vietnam, China demand
  • Prices have surged in the past year on supply concerns
A worker displays ripe coffee cherries during a harvest at a farm in Huatusco, Mexico.Photographer: Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/Bloomberg
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Coffee’s dizzying rally, which saw prices surge more than 90% in the past year, has already hurt demand in most major markets. Now, consumption is even starting to waver in the places where it was making a last stand.

With feeble demand growth in the US and Europe’s high-income countries, the industry has become increasingly reliant on consumers in emerging economies. But there are early signs that once-booming consumption is starting to falter in those areas.