COVID-19 could create some trouble for the coffee industry, according to Purdue University. During the 2011-12 growing season, an orange fungus called coffee leaf rust spread throughout Latin America and Central America, which damaged crops on 70% of farms and created over $3.2 billion in damage. Luckily, coffee crop management programs helped growers control the fungus.
Now, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction in management practices, and closed borders, limiting or in some places eliminating movement of essential workers to help with the coffee harvest. Without crops being harvested, profits proceed to plunge, and the feedback loop worsens. Without farmers having programs to reduce or get rid of coffee leaf rust, global coffee supplies could become very low, making a cup of coffee more expensive. Researchers had some suggestions that could help with rust issues, including getting coffee from more areas, including places not as impacted by the fungus, and diversifying farms and livelihoods of coffee farmers.
