Colombia May Raise Coffee Bean Prices

Colombia, the world’s second-largest coffee producer, probably will raise the price of its beans soon amid signs that U.S. consumers are willing to pay more for higher-quality coffee, the head of the nation’s growers group said. Colombia produces the mild arabica beans that many drinkers of specialty coffee prefer. Demand for higher grades is on the rise in the U.S. Still, ample supplies of coffee from growers such as Brazil, the world’s largest, have pushed prices down almost 20% in the last year and close to a two-year low.