Why the C-Price Spike Doesn’t Affect Warawul—and Why We Should Celebrate Higher Prices for Coffee Producers
There has been a lot of talk about the C-Price for green coffee recently. According to some, it has spiked to levels not seen for the past 37 years. We explain why we celebrate this, why we don’t use the C-Price as reference, and how with Warawul, the producer sets the price.
Recently, someone asked us if the spike in green coffee prices had affected us. Interestingly, this person isn't a coffee enthusiast or someone working in the coffee industry.
Instead, they had read one of the many “crisis” posts from roasters who trade in “fair” coffee, highlighting how the stock market price for commodity Arabica coffee (the C-Price) had hit a 37-year high. This narrative of record high prices itself is misleading—it completely ignores inflation.
What is the C-Price?
Coffee, like many commodities, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange in contracts. The C-Price denotes the FOB (first on board) price per pound of Arabica coffee in these contracts and assumes all coffee is interchangeable—a fundamental contradiction to what specialty coffee represents.
While the stock market acknowledges some variations (like valuing certified organic coffee higher), the C-Price still commoditizes coffee, ignoring factors like variety, processing methods, and provenance that make specialty coffee unique.
Why We Don’t Use the C-Price
The idea of specialty coffee is based on each coffee’s uniqueness in taste profile, not commoditization or interchangeability. At Warawul, we reject the C-Price system because it commodifies and anonymizes coffee, erasing the work and individuality of the producers.
Instead, we operate on a producer-first model:
- Producers set their prices. We don’t negotiate; they are the experts and owners of their product and craft and will also know which prices will work for them.
- Transparency: On each coffee's product page, we publish the FOB (Free on Board) price— the price producers receive for delivering coffee to the port of export.
In 2024, our average green coffee price was €8.25 per kilogram—225% of the C-Price at the start of the year. This includes coffees from the 2023 harvest and still surpasses the so-called “record” prices causing an industry-wide panic.
Why We’re Celebrating, Not Panicking
We believe higher coffee prices should be celebrated.
The real crisis isn’t the C-Price spike. It’s the system that, for years, forced producers to sell below their production costs, trapping them in cycles of poverty. The real crisis is the growing risks from unpredictable weather patterns caused by climate change.
Higher prices mean producers can earn more, which is a step toward making coffee farming sustainable.
Instead of young people leaving the coffee farms of their parents to seek a better life in the cities and abroad, higher prices might convince them to stay and build livelihoods based on growing coffee.
It’s also an opportunity for consumers to recognize coffee’s true value—and understand that their joyful experience in drinking coffee should never be at the cost of coffee producers experiencing poverty and financial ruin.
What It Means for Warawul
Because we don’t rely on the C-Price, our pricing remains unaffected by its fluctuations. We buy coffee months in advance, directly from producers, based on relationships.
Our coffee prices will continue to reflect the costs set by producers, varying from harvest to harvest and adapting to the unique characteristics of each variety and process.
At Warawul, we believe in a coffee trade rooted in respect, fairness, and sustainability. Higher green coffee prices are a step in the right direction—for coffee producers but also for us on the other end of the value chain.