Coffee industry could see boost in business due to tariffs on foreign imports

By Kristen Consillio

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    HONOLULU (KITV) — As tariffs kick in, the state’s premium Kona coffee industry could see a boost in short-term business.

That’s because Hawaii’s the only state in the nation that commercially grows coffee.

“So we are the only American coffee on the market,” said Suzanne Shriner, vice president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association. “So those global coffees will see a significant price increase in the coming short term, whereas our prices should be stable.”

But it’s a double-edged sword if there are retaliatory tariffs for U.S. exports.

“It looks good for our pricing, but we also do export quite a bit of coffee to Asia and and the European market,” she said. “So the tariffs will hurt us there on the backside.”

For now, it could make Hawaii coffee look like a good deal.

Kona coffee runs anywhere from $49 to $79. That compares to $18 to $25 a pound for coffee from other countries.

“But you add anywhere from 20% to 40% on that and you’re going to start seeing that price gap shrink a little bit,” Shriner said.

Even before the tariffs, foreign coffee prices doubled because of droughts in Brazil and Columbia in recent months creating coffee shortages.

“It’s the highest it’s ever been,” she said. “And that’s good for Hawaii because it makes our coffee seem more reasonably priced compared to the cheaper coffees.”

But a major concern if prices get too high: “We don’t want to drive people away from drinking coffee, have them switch to an energy energy drink, for example, in the morning. We want their caffeine to come through our cup of coffee in the morning.”

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