OTTAWA: Coffee prices in Canada climbed 30.8% in December 2025 from a year earlier, one of the steepest increases across common grocery items, according to Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index. The rise widened a gap between coffee and broader consumer inflation, as many households faced higher costs for beans, ground coffee, and café purchases. Statistics Canada said coffee remained a leading driver of annual grocery inflation in the month. It was the largest year over year increase highlighted in the release.
The all-items CPI rose 2.4% year over year in December, while prices for food purchased from stores rose 5.0% and were flat month to month. Statistics Canada said coffee and fresh or frozen beef were the largest contributors to higher grocery bills. The broader food component, which includes restaurant meals, rose 6.2% from December 2024. The overall index fell 0.2% from November as gasoline prices declined. Coffee’s increase far outpaced the grocery average, highlighting a sharp divergence among food categories.
Separate Statistics Canada retail price data show the average price of roasted or ground coffee was C$9.35 for a 340-gram package in December 2025, up from C$7.12 a year earlier. In August 2025, grocery-store coffee prices were 27.9% higher than a year earlier, with roasted or ground coffee up 35.2%. Over the longer term, coffee prices increased 81.3% from 1979 to 2024, the agency said. Food purchased from fast food and take-out restaurants rose 5.9% year over year in August 2025, while cafeterias and other restaurants rose 3.2%.
Canada relies on imports for most of its coffee supply. In a typical month about one-quarter of coffee bean imports come from Colombia, while Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru account for much of the remainder, Statistics Canada said. From January to July 2025, Canada imported 131.0 million kilograms of unroasted, non-decaffeinated coffee valued at more than C$1.3 billion. In 2024, imports hit all-time highs in both quantity at 215.4 million kilograms and value above C$1.4 billion. Those totals were reported in trade figures compiled by the agency.
Imports and supply chain costs
Statistics Canada said higher bean costs have also lifted costs for roasters and food manufacturers. In July 2025, factory gate prices for the coffee and tea commodity group were up 30.1% from a year earlier, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index. In the same month, the coffee and tea manufacturing industry shipped C$292.8 million worth of product. Statistics Canada also reported that Canada imported 3.9 million kilograms of roasted coffee in July 2025, most of it from the United States.
The agency noted that roasted coffee products were among items affected by tariffs charged by the United States on its own coffee imports, and they were also affected by Canada’s tariff countermeasures until Sept. 1, 2025. Global markets have faced supply disruptions in key producing regions. Arabica coffee futures on ICE, a benchmark used to price physical grades worldwide, traded above US$3.60 a pound in January 2025 after reaching record levels. Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer, and Colombia is a major supplier to Canada.
Global benchmark prices eased in late 2025
The International Coffee Organization reported that its Composite Indicator Price, which tracks green coffee prices across major origins and groups, averaged 304.68 U.S. cents per pound in December 2025. That was down 7.8% from November 2025, after prices fell sharply from mid-November to mid-December and then partially recovered by the end of the month. The organization said all major coffee groups recorded declines during December. The indicator slid from 343.92 cents per pound in mid-November to a low of 283.21 cents, and stood at 293.09 cents on Dec. 31.
Statistics Canada’s household spending survey showed that in 2023, households nationwide spent an average of C$164 on roasted and ground coffee, up from C$150 in 2021. Spending was higher in Newfoundland and Labrador at C$260, followed by Yellowknife at C$243 and Quebec at C$199. Consumption data from the Canadian Community Health Survey found about three in five Canadians aged 19 to 50 reported drinking coffee the day before they were surveyed, rising to about three in four among those aged 51 to 71. – By Content Syndication Services.