Climate change threatens Vietnam’s coffee farmers, Pleiku, Vietnam, 8 September 2022 (Photo: Van Pham/ Reuters). Every morning, millions of people around the world find solace in a cup of coffee. But this cherished daily routine is under siege as climate change drives up costs and diminishes the flavour of coffee — and Asia’s major coffee producers find themselves on the front lines. Southeast Asia in particular is a powerhouse in the global coffee market, with Vietnam and Indonesia being the world’s second and fourth biggest coffee producers respectively. In 2023, Vietnam produced 29.1 million 60 kilogram bags of coffee while Indonesia contributed 11.85 million . Other countries in the region such as Thailand, Laos and the Philippines are also increasing their output. But rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts are taking a toll on coffee crops. Coffee plants are highly sensitive to climatic changes and the increasing heat can impair their growth, reduce yields and lower the quality of the beans. Pests like the coffee berry borer, which thrive in warmer conditions, are further exacerbating the situation, leading to significant crop losses. By 2050, up to 50 per cent of land suitable for coffee cultivation may be lost due to climate change. The inconvenient reality is that key coffee-producing regions located in the Coffee Belt — between 20 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator — are among the most vulnerable to climate change. This puts the global coffee supply at increasing risk. The long-term implications of climate change for the coffee industry are concerning. As climate conditions worsen , the supply of coffee from Southeast Asia and other key regions is likely to shrink. This decrease in supply coincides with a rising global demand for coffee, driven by population growth and the beverage’s enduring popularity […]