Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

An In-Depth Look at Gruppo Cimbali’s Coffee Technician Wheel

The Coffee Technician Wheel is a new tool that helps technicians understand the complexity of coffee extraction. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Edgardo Ferrero and Espresso Academy Coffee technicians are responsible for a complex set of tasks related to the production and extraction of coffee. They manage customer requests and need to […]


Understanding the Process: Carbonic Maceration

Continuing our series on coffee processing, we learn about carbonic maceration—a unique, newer processing method. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Cafe Imports Editor’s note: Check out more entries in our “Understanding the Process“ series here. The rise of the specialty-coffee scene has helped many people understand that talking about coffee as something […]


A Look at Digital Coffee Future’s Digital Origin Education Program

The new program connects coffee producers to one another, provides them with educational resources, and more. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of the Cocaerol, Comal & Amprocal cooperatives in Honduras Since 2021, Digital Coffee Future (DCF) has been working on a digital training program to address the needs of coffee producers. In September […]


Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part One

Not all sweeteners are made equal! In this series, we’ll take a closer look at different types of sweeteners and syrups—starting with honey. BY EMILY JOY MENESESBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo by Arwin Neil Baichoo via Unsplash Though you can’t go wrong with simple syrup or the tried-and-true vanilla, there are many options when it […]

Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

The Potential of Augmented Reality Technology for the Coffee Industry

Join us as we explore the applications and trends of “augmented reality“ in the world of coffee. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo courtesy of Pixabay In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, augmented reality (AR) has emerged as a transformative force, blurring the lines between the digital and physical worlds. As we step into […]


Weekly Coffee News: Grounds for Health Week + Iconic SF Shop Closes

Welcome to DCN’s Weekly Coffee News. Keep up with all the latest coffee industry stories and career opportunities by subscribing to DCN’s newsletter. Tell our editors about your news here. Registration Opens for Inaugural…


3 Noteworthy Cafés in the Borough of Brooklyn, N.Y.

We explore three standout Brooklyn cafés: drip, BKG, and Coffee Project New York. BY EMILY MENESES BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Cover photo by Nelson Ndongala via Unsplash Whether you’re a New York local or planning your next NYC trip, you won’t want to miss out on Brooklyn’s vibrant (and constantly evolving) coffee scene. Today, we’re exploring […]


An Unfiltered History of Vietnamese Coffee

We explore the history of coffee in Vietnam and how the industry’s perception of Vietnamese coffee is evolving.  BY EMILY MENESES BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo by frank mckenna via Unsplash What do you think of when you hear the term “Vietnamese coffee”? For Kim Dam, founder of Portland Cà Phê, it extends far beyond […]

Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

Playing Leaderboard, the Arcade-Inspired Coffee Game

We sat down to try the newest version of the game—a fun opportunity to learn more about coffee while vying for cool coffee prizes.  BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos by Tanya Nanetti I’ve never been much into video games, except for the classic arcade games of my youth.   Growing up in the ‘80s meant […]


Joven and Atucún Join Forces to Empower Young Farmers

The two brands have collaborated to create a unique coffee bar and support young farmers in the coffee and cacao industries. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Joven Coffee  For their first-of-its-kind bar, Joven Coffee and Atucún Chocolateria combined coffee beans, extracted cocoa butter, and organic cane sugar. Committed to supporting young farmers […]


Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part One

Not all sweeteners are made equal! In this series, we’ll take a closer look at different types of sweeteners and syrups—starting with honey. BY EMILY JOY MENESESBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo by Arwin Neil Baichoo via Unsplash Though you can’t go wrong with simple syrup or the tried-and-true vanilla, there are many options when it […]


A Recap of The Barista League’s Mystery Coffee Vacation in Colombia

The Barista League’s Mystery Coffee Vacation in Colombia is over, and we’ve got the scoop on all the fun! BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Vasileia Fanarioti and Juan Henao During the last week of February, the 2022 Barista League champions gathered in Colombia for this year’s Mystery Coffee Vacation. It was an […]

Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

minimum dose size?

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

Like many other industries, conditions in the coffee supply chain can change quickly, and in turn, have a huge impact on all actors and stakeholders. Price volatility is one of the more pertinent – which is influenced by many factors. These include fluctuations in supply and demand, extreme or unexpected weather events, global economic downturn, and social or political unrest.

Additionally, these factors can also affect shipping coffee from producing countries to export markets. We saw this with Covid-19, which caused the freight industry to collapse and shipping companies to massively reduce their capacities. But with demand for coffee only growing during the pandemic, coffee stockpiles soon started to reach record lows.

Most recently, however, conflict in the Red Sea (a narrow inlet of the Indian Ocean in between Africa and Asia) and escalating political tension in the Middle East could have a huge impact on global trade. 

“Recent attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea have already started to disrupt key shipping routes, eroding slack in supply networks, and increasing the likelihood of inflationary bottlenecks,” the World Bank stated in its latest report.

Ultimately, this means the coffee supply chain is highly likely to be affected – so roasters need to best prepare.

I spoke to Betiel Medhanie, East Africa Logistics Manager at Sucafina, to find out how.

You may also like our article on why it becomes more expensive to ship coffee.

A large cargo ship on the Red Sea.

What’s happening in the Red Sea?

The current conflict in the Red Sea – which separates the coasts of Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea from those of Saudi Arabia and Yemen – is incredibly complex and hard to unpack. 

In a more immediate sense, it largely stems from Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which first started in early October 2023. Since then, over 25,000 Palestinian civilians have tragically been killed. This conflict also has its own long and complicated history dating back to World War One.

In response to Israeli attacks in Gaza, the Houthis – a political and military organisation in Yemen – have started to attack commercial shipping vessels travelling through the Red Sea. Members of the group have also boarded or hijacked cargo ships, although no serious injuries or deaths have been announced so far.

To avoid the conflict as much as possible, shipping companies like Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and MSC have halted or rerouted their vessels. According to the Atlantic Council, seven of the ten largest shipping companies have now suspended operations in the Red Sea.

How will the conflict affect global trade?

Simply put, the Red Sea is one the most important trade routes in the world. In a recent article, the Guardian stated about 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, including 30% of global container traffic. This equates to billions of dollars of goods passing through this route every year.

So with many freight companies avoiding the Red Sea and rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope (on the southern tip of Africa), total shipping times will increase by a few weeks. Moreover, shipping companies who choose to travel through the conflict zone are also facing higher insurance risk premiums. Either option comes with its own unique challenges and uncertainties.

There have been efforts to stop the attacks on and hijacking of cargo ships, including the formation of the Operation Prosperity Guardian coalition. But as of now, the conflict is still ongoing.

Workers in a green coffee warehouse in Aquires, Costa Rica.

Impact on the coffee supply chain

The vast majority of the world’s coffee supply is transported from producing countries to export markets by cargo ships. This means many green coffee buyers and roasters are sure to be affected by the conflict in the Red Sea – mainly as a result of ensuing delays and higher shipping prices.

“Most carriers have paused service or rerouted vessels from the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait because of the continuing attacks on vessels there,” Betiel says. “Those who have continued service have introduced a war risk surcharge and declared force majeure.”

This is a common clause in contracts which essentially ensures both parties are not liable to fulfil their obligations when an extraordinary event or circumstance occurs beyond their control, including conflict.

“The diversion is causing more traffic in the Suez Canal and in general, we’re seeing transit delays of two to three weeks and slow container turnover,” Betiel explains. “If this continues, we anticipate that reduced capacity could trigger increased rates on top of the already implemented surcharges.”

Drawing comparisons with the pandemic

Shipping delays aren’t an uncommon occurrence in any industry. The last time we saw disruptions this significant, however, was during Covid-19.

With so many businesses forced to close, out-of-home coffee consumption took a huge hit. But this was offset with a simultaneous rise in at-home consumption. In the months following the pandemic as the global economy bounced back, demand for coffee and other consumer goods skyrocketed.

Resultantly, so that businesses could replenish their stocks to normal levels, there was a historic increase in the number of cargo ships coming into ports. What’s more, with social distancing measures in place at the time, port staff had to unload freight at a much slower rate – delaying shipments by weeks.

This led to unprecedented bottlenecks and disruptions across many supply chains, including in the coffee sector.

The problem was exacerbated even further in late March 2021 when the 400 metre-long Ever Given cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week. At the time, it was carrying some 18,300 containers. The unintentional blockade also delayed the movement of 369 other ships which were unable to pass through the canal – resulting in an estimated loss of US $15 million per day for affected businesses.

Effectively, container space then became more competitive, which caused shipping prices to rise dramatically. In July 2021, a Bloomberg article stated the price of a single shipping container travelling from Brazil to the US had reached around US $4,000 – double the normal rate. Other reports at the time suggested containers travelling from Shanghai to the Netherlands sold for US $10,000, which is more than a 540% increase.

Roasters (especially smaller ones with less inventory on hand) then had to absorb the costs themselves, or raise their prices and pass them onto the end consumer.

Roasters inspect roasted coffee beans.

How can coffee roasters best prepare for shipping delays?

In the years since the pandemic, we have seen how the coffee industry has remained resilient and managed to adapt to the ensuing challenges. So given that the scale of the conflict in the Red Sea isn’t as comparable to that of a global pandemic, there’s hope that recent disruptions will be more manageable for roasters and green buyers.

That doesn’t mean, however, that roasters shouldn’t prepare for shipping delays and increased costs as much as they can.

“We suggest that roasters contact their suppliers to review new arrival dates,” Betiel says. “Roasters should expect at least an additional two to three weeks for most shipments to arrive. It’s helpful to subscribe to weekly arrival updates on your importer’s website or with your trader.”

Maintaining green coffee quality will be one of the biggest priorities. The longer it takes coffee to reach its import destination, the more likely it is that quality will drop. Green coffee, however, technically stays fresh for up to a year – so delays of two to three weeks shouldn’t cause too many serious issues.

“Check your inventory levels regularly and estimate your consumption far in advance to account for slower arrival times,” Betiel tells me. “Additionally, check out spot offerings if you need last minute coffee and subscribe to newsletters to receive important information, such as monthly logistics reports.”

Dealing with increased costs

Undoubtedly, there will be financial repercussions of the conflict in the Red Sea and its impact on global trade. And with many coffee businesses still facing higher energy and food costs – tightening already slim profit margins – it’s likely that end consumers will also have to pay more.

It’s a difficult balancing act for roasters. They need to make sure they pay producers fairly for their coffee, while also not passing down too many extra costs to consumers. 

Ultimately, communication and transparency are key. Although it’s more difficult than ever to provide customers with accurate timescales and updates, they will only help to strengthen partnerships and relationships.

Workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia stack bags of coffee in a warehouse.

Logistical issues are certainly a concern, but industry can still be manage them effectively with plenty of preparation.

While it seems that shipping delays will be persistent for another few months at least, roasters and green buyers should strive to remain resilient and adaptable.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on logistical challenges in the coffee sector.

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

Shopping cart0
There are no products in the cart!
Continue shopping
0