J.M. Smucker Co said on Tuesday that it had raised list prices on most of its U.S. packaged coffee, primarily the well-known Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts brands, for the first time since 2011 because of soaring green coffee costs.
Smucker increased prices by an average of 9 percent due to rallying bean prices, the company said.
Price increases by large U.S. roasters have been largely expected after arabica coffee futures prices jumped nearly 90 percent within three months to a 26-month high in April on concerns that Brazil's worst drought in decades would damage crops in the world's biggest producer. The market has since dropped around 20 percent.
The move by Smucker, which is considered a trendsetter, is likely to trigger price hikes by other major U.S. coffee roasters as they seek to protect profits from rising bean prices that took the industry by surprise.
The price increase does not include K-Cup packs, Smucker said in a statement.
This is Smucker's first price move since February 2013. At that time, the company lowered retail prices on Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts brands by an average of 6 percent, its third straight cut as the futures market made a steady decline.
Smucker last raised prices in May 2011 as arabica futures more than doubled to a 34-year high above $3 per lb.
