The latest figures indicate a significant increase in the cost of coffee, with a 30.6% rise in the price of 250 grams of instant coffee over the past year, and a 6.8% increase in ground coffee for the same period.

Experts point to unfavourable weather conditions in Brazil and Vietnam, two of the globe's top coffee producers, as the primary cause of this trend.

Senior Agricultural Economist Paul Makube from First National Bank Commercial offers insight into the situation.

"The current spike in coffee prices can be largely attributed to the fact that we rely heavily on imports for our coffee supply," he explains. "International market trends show a sharp increase in the price of raw coffee. This is due to suboptimal production conditions in key regions, which have adversely affected crop yields."

--SABC--