Smucker Raises Folgers Coffee Prices; Will Others Follow Suit?

ORRVILLE, Ohio (TheStreet) -- J.M. Smucker (SJM) raised coffee prices for the fourth time this year in response to soaring Arabica costs, and this latest price hike is the largest yet at 11%.

J.M. Smucker, which makes Folgers coffee and also licenses the Dunkin' Donuts brand, raised prices on its coffee products by 11%.

Coffee futures hit a three-decade high of $3.0615 per pound on May 3 but have come down somewhat from that price in recent trading sessions. The commodity most recently settled at $2.6255 per pound on Monday.

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J.M. Smucker shares were unchanged in premarket trading Tuesday after closing Monday at $76.91.

J.M. Smucker said that green coffee costs were "significantly higher in the second quarter of 2011." Smucker raised prices of its Folgers and other well-known brands by around 9% earlier this year.

Starbucks (SBUX) said earlier this month that it already contracted its coffee purchases for the remainder of fiscal 2011, locking in its costs, so it likely won't need to raise prices in the near-term.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) said recently that its margins have been growing despite soaring coffee bean costs.

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