Frost in Brazil creates a volatile coffee market. But University of Rochester anthropologist says growers in Columbia and Central America may benefit.

A severe frost in Brazil has damaged coffee crops, prompting an increase in global coffee prices. According to Reuters, arabica coffee prices have surged to the highest level in almost seven years. 

"But coffee is grown all over the world, and smart coffee buyers will be able to adapt by finding new sources to replace the lost supply in Brazil," says Daniel Reichman, an associate professor anthropology at the University of Rochester. "Brazil’s losses will benefit coffee growers in places like Colombia and Central America."

Reichman explains that the coffee market is segmented between large scale buyers that have sophisticated hedging strategies to deal with risk, and small scale roasters that might have a relationship with single farms.

Reichman, who has researched the coffee-growing economies in both Central America and South America, wrote about "big coffee" in Brazil for The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology. His upcoming book is titled Progress in the Balance: Mythologies of Development in Santos, Brazil. It's a study of political and economic transformations in the city of Santos, which has been the hub of the world coffee trade for more than a century.