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STARBUCKS and the S-11 chain of coffee shops have become the latest to raise the price of a cup of coffee.
On Wednesday, Starbucks hiked drinks prices by between 10 and 30 cents. A tall latte is now $5.50, up from $5.30, and a tall mocha frappuccino is $5.80, up from $5.50.
S-11 put up signs at its drink stalls announcing price increases for coffee, tea and Milo, which started from Jan 11. A cup of coffee is now $1, up from 90 cents.
The increases come after a third chain, Ya Kun, raised its coffee prices by 20 cents last month.
Poor weather and lower production in coffee-growing nations drove bean prices to a 13-year high last year but the cost is only just filtering down to consumers here. And it is no use relying on sugar to sweeten the pill. Prices of this commodity, used in roasting coffee beans, rose by 30 per cent in the past year.
A Starbucks spokesman said it raised prices to keep up with the sustained increase in the price of green Arabica coffee, as well as volatility in the price of other key raw ingredients.
Ya Kun last increased prices in 2008. In recent years, operation and raw material costs have risen steadily, said its spokesman. 'This price revision is inevitable in order to ensure that quality is not compromised in any aspect,' she said.
S-11 declined to comment.
The two main coffee shop groups, the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association and the Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar Owners Association, said most of their members are holding prices steady.
Similarly, coffee chains like The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Killiney Kopitiam have maintained their prices.
Mr Ray Tham, Killiney's sales and marketing manager, said the firm was still able to hold its price for now, but added: 'If there is a significant increase in our cost, we will need to review our price.'
Local coffee powder manufacturers, who mostly get their beans from Indonesia, said they are still using stock bought at pre-hike prices. As a result, they are not passing on the higher cost of the raw material to coffee shops yet, even though it has gone up by 10 to 20 per cent.
But Cuppa Choice, which supplies beans and powder to more than 200 local coffee shops, will raise prices of its traditional beans by 10 per cent next month.
Mr Hong Poh Hin, chairman of the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association said some coffee shops may have raised prices earlier as a result of an increase in other costs, such as electricity bills.
He noted that some coffee shops typically increase beverage prices by 10 to 20 cents during the Chinese New Year period to cover manpower costs, but prices should come down after the festivities.
Meanwhile, the price hike has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some coffee drinkers. Taxi driver Gary Toh, 48, was put off by the $1 kopi he bought at an S-11 outlet last week. 'Other coffee shops are still charging 70 or 80 cents, but they are charging $1? It's ridiculous.'
Others like housewife Karen Lee, 41, took it in their stride. 'When you eat out, you have to buy a drink. Everything is more expensive now, it's inevitable.'
Student Tan Shu Yi, 22, said she will still buy her cuppa from Starbucks. 'But if the prices keep going up and increase by more than 50 cents, I'll be better off at the kopitiams.'
On Wednesday, Starbucks hiked drinks prices by between 10 and 30 cents. A tall latte is now $5.50, up from $5.30, and a tall mocha frappuccino is $5.80, up from $5.50.
S-11 put up signs at its drink stalls announcing price increases for coffee, tea and Milo, which started from Jan 11. A cup of coffee is now $1, up from 90 cents.
The increases come after a third chain, Ya Kun, raised its coffee prices by 20 cents last month.
Poor weather and lower production in coffee-growing nations drove bean prices to a 13-year high last year but the cost is only just filtering down to consumers here. And it is no use relying on sugar to sweeten the pill. Prices of this commodity, used in roasting coffee beans, rose by 30 per cent in the past year.
A Starbucks spokesman said it raised prices to keep up with the sustained increase in the price of green Arabica coffee, as well as volatility in the price of other key raw ingredients.
Ya Kun last increased prices in 2008. In recent years, operation and raw material costs have risen steadily, said its spokesman. 'This price revision is inevitable in order to ensure that quality is not compromised in any aspect,' she said.
S-11 declined to comment.
The two main coffee shop groups, the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association and the Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar Owners Association, said most of their members are holding prices steady.
Similarly, coffee chains like The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Killiney Kopitiam have maintained their prices.
Mr Ray Tham, Killiney's sales and marketing manager, said the firm was still able to hold its price for now, but added: 'If there is a significant increase in our cost, we will need to review our price.'
Local coffee powder manufacturers, who mostly get their beans from Indonesia, said they are still using stock bought at pre-hike prices. As a result, they are not passing on the higher cost of the raw material to coffee shops yet, even though it has gone up by 10 to 20 per cent.
But Cuppa Choice, which supplies beans and powder to more than 200 local coffee shops, will raise prices of its traditional beans by 10 per cent next month.
Mr Hong Poh Hin, chairman of the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association said some coffee shops may have raised prices earlier as a result of an increase in other costs, such as electricity bills.
He noted that some coffee shops typically increase beverage prices by 10 to 20 cents during the Chinese New Year period to cover manpower costs, but prices should come down after the festivities.
Meanwhile, the price hike has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some coffee drinkers. Taxi driver Gary Toh, 48, was put off by the $1 kopi he bought at an S-11 outlet last week. 'Other coffee shops are still charging 70 or 80 cents, but they are charging $1? It's ridiculous.'
Others like housewife Karen Lee, 41, took it in their stride. 'When you eat out, you have to buy a drink. Everything is more expensive now, it's inevitable.'
Student Tan Shu Yi, 22, said she will still buy her cuppa from Starbucks. 'But if the prices keep going up and increase by more than 50 cents, I'll be better off at the kopitiams.'
:oIo::oIo:
