Australian takeaway coffee prices rise three times faster than CPI

A new survey by coffee maker Gilkatho shows a rapid rise in coffee prices, but that hasn't stopped Australia from craving cappuccino. While international coffee prices have fallen, takeaway coffee drinks are rising at more than three times the CPI, making a cup of takeaway coffee in Australia more expensive than ever before. Compared to the past year, takeaway coffee prices rose 4.2%, consumer prices rose 1.2%, and food inflation was negative 3.2%.

According to the latest regular survey by coffee maker Gilkatho, the average price of coffee in Perth is $3.87 and $3.28 in Sydney. Gilkatho managing director Wayne Fowler said: "Because coffee machine suppliers in offices and retail outlets use the same quality coffee beans and coffee machine, we can calculate the actual cost of a cup of coffee is $0.35."

Perth is the most expensive city in Australia for takeaway coffee, Sydney is the cheapest city for coffee, and the average price of a cappuccino in Perth is 18% higher than Sydney. The average price of Perth takeaway coffee is significantly higher than Brisbane, where the average price of takeaway coffee is $3.47, then Adelaide $3.44, Canberra $3.38 and coffee-loving Melbourne $3.36.

The International Coffee Organization's composite index shows that international coffee prices have fallen significantly from $2.10 per pound in July 2011 to $1.59 per pound in July 2012. Despite the high takeaway prices, Australia is on track to reach coffee consumption of 2.95 kg per person by 2012, up from 2.7 kg per person in 2009.