Tim Hortons has increased the price of its coffee for the first time in three years, citing global market volatility and rising bean costs as the main factors. Speaking to CTV News, the company said the 1.5 percent price adjustment per cup is “more than reasonable” given that coffee bean prices have more than doubled in the past three years—from C$2.21 to C$5.45 per pound, according to MarketWatch. The increase works out to about three cents per cup for customers.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadians have already been paying more for their morning brew, with grocery store coffee prices rising by nearly 28 percent compared to last year. Canada imported over 131 million kilograms of unroasted coffee worth more than $1.3 billion in July, primarily from Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and other Latin American nations. Weather disruptions in South America and new U.S. tariffs are further fueling cost increases, according to experts such as Sylvain Charlebois from Agri-Foods Analytics Lab.
Trade tensions have complicated the situation. Although Latin America supplies most of Canada’s raw coffee beans, the United States imports a significant portion of its roasted coffee. A series of U.S. tariffs on Brazilian coffee and Canada’s retaliatory measures have impacted these imports. Statistics Canada noted that such counter-tariffs are “possibly affecting costs for some Canadian coffee importers.”
Food prices in general are rising faster than inflation, with Loblaw’s September report showing food costs up 3.5 percent in August—nearly double the Consumer Price Index growth of 1.9 percent. The report highlighted coffee as one of the products most affected by global supply chain disruptions and tariffs. Loblaw added that since the easing of tariffs in September, some prices are beginning to normalize, but coffee markets remain unstable.
Global suppliers are now competing for limited stock as Brazilian growers cautiously hold back on exports, waiting for more favourable market conditions. With ongoing trade disputes and unpredictable weather patterns, Canadians should expect continued volatility in coffee prices—both in their grocery aisles and at their favourite drive-thrus.
