AMSTERDAM - Dutch coffee drinkers have had to pay considerably more for their cup of coffee this past year. In August, the supermarket price was 22 percent more than a year earlier, the European stats office Eurostat calculated. The coffee price in the Netherlands rose faster than in the EU as a whole (7 percent). 

In Finland, the coffee price rose the fastest at 44 percent compared to a year ago. Eurostat also reported an increase of at least 30 percent in Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, Hungary, and Latvia. 

The morning routine of Dutch coffee drinkers who take milk or sugar in their coffee became even more expensive. The price of sugar and whole or skimmed milk rose by 13 and about 19 percent, respectively, in a year. These increases are modest compared to other EU member states. The sugar price in Poland rose by 109 percent compared to August 2021, and milk drinkers in Hungary, Lithuania, and Croatia now have to pay considerably more. 

Inflation has risen sharply since October 2021, first because of rising energy costs and then also because of the war in Ukraine. In August, Eurostat recorded an average increase in consumer prices for the Netherlands of almost 14 percent compared to a year earlier. The price of coffee, therefore, also increased more than the complete ‘basket’ of products with which the inflation figure is calculated.