Kona Coffee Farmers Warn Disastrous Trump Tariffs Will Harm American-Produced Coffee As Much As Imported Coffee – CoffeeTalk

Hawaiian coffee farmers are warning President Donald Trump that steep tariffs on major exporters like Brazil will hurt them as well. Hawaii is the only state in the country where tropical goods grow, with most of java imported from South America and Vietnam. Higher-priced foreign imports should make the island state’s products comparatively more affordable. However, growers argue that rising prices across the board will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans.

Brazil and Vietnam are the world’s top producers of coffee, and Trump has threatened a 50% and 20% levy on those countries, respectively. Vietnamese officials have said negotiations are ongoing, while Brazil is weighing countermeasures and could ask for a reduction in the levies. If tariffs hold, even at a lower rate, they would be a blow to US consumers and companies that have already faced surging costs over the last year as poor weather impacted global coffee production. Americans’ beloved morning cup of joe could get even more expensive as the cost of tariffs start getting passed down to consumers, and that could risk a ripple effect of decreased consumption.

Trump has said his tariff campaign is aimed at rewriting trade practices he thinks are unfair to the US and encouraging a reshoring of production, from cars to metals mining. Coffee, however, is not an imported commodity that can easily be replaced. National Coffee Association president Bill Murray wrote in a letter to the US Trade Representative requesting an exemption from tariffs back in March.

Coffee is a popular beverage in the US, with two-thirds of Americans drinking it daily. The US imported over 450,000 tons of unroasted coffee from Brazil in 2024, valued at nearly $2 billion. Hawaii is expected to produce just 12,040 tons of coffee cherries in the 2024-2025 season, which will shrink once the cherries are processed into beans. This production is not near the scale required to meet US demand, according to the National Coffee Association.

Hawaiian farmers don’t see much room to expand production significantly, constrained by land, labor, and climate. However, demand has plenty of space to drop, especially if consumers decide that their “affordable luxury” isn’t cost-effective anymore. Hawaii’s coffee farmers received about $21.90 per pound for green coffee in the 2024-2025 marketing year, but by the time that makes it to consumers, the best quality beans can cost even more. A pound of roasted coffee from Ka’awaloa Trail Farm in Big Island’s famed Kona coffee-growing region retails for $60. Even at a current record high in data going back to 1980, a pound of ground roast coffee in the US averaged just over $8 a pound.

The chocolate industry has also been pushing for an exemption from tariffs. Hawaii’s cocoa production is barely existent, not even topping 50 tons of dry beans in 2022. The US imported nearly 200,000 tons of cocoa beans last year, and that’s already after a significant drop due to lower global production. Hershey Co. said in May that it would seek an exemption, citing as much as $20 million in tariff costs during the second quarter. Unmitigated impacts could rise to $100 million later in the year after working through existing inventories.

Lonohana Estate Chocolate’s plans to expand are also being stymied. The Honolulu-based company already grows raw cacao and churns out cocoa liquor every day, and is trying to take on the next step of processing — extracting butter and powder from the liquid. Trump’s levies on China, the only country currently making new machines in the necessary size, have complicated the project, said founder Seneca Klassen.

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