Importers purchase grean coffee from established exporters as they see fit for their marketing needs. These importers are usually large corperations will plenty of capital to purchase large amounts of beans at once. This effects the roasting business which usually doesn’t have enough capital to provide themselves with enough business. Upon importation, beans are valued through a series of grading standards. This would include examining size of beans, density, shape, and number of defects in a given amount of beans. All these factors will change the price an importer is willing to pay, excluding the supply and demand which will also affect the price. This method of inspection is usually not as critical for Robusta beans which are notably less valuable and more uniform than their Arabica counterparts. (“The `Latte Revolution’?”)
The single largest factor that affects coffee prices is the weather in Brazil. Brazil is the largest exporter and often experiences doubt and frosts which can be detremental to bean growth. The next largest influence on coffee price is New York market speculators. The coffee prices are variable worldwide based off the New York “C” Contract market which trades more than the average coffee yield. (“Coffee FAQ”)
In the United States, coffee is the largest food import and second only to oil in any import. The United States imports most of its coffee from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, and Vietnam, as well as much smaller quanities from countries in the Central Americas as well as Indonesia. With 130 million coffee consumers in the United States alone, there seems to be no shortage of demand. (“Coffee FAQ”)