(Reuters) - Kraft Foods said on Friday it lowered prices on many of its U.S. coffees, including its flagship brand Maxwell House and some of its instant coffees, citing lower green coffee costs since prices peaked last year.
The move comes three days after trend-setter J.M. Smucker Co. cut the cost of well-known brands Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts by an average of 6 percent. It is the second cut to coffee prices since August 2011 for both companies.
"These changes reflect sustained decreases in the cost of green coffee," Kraft spokeswoman Bridget MacConnell told Reuters in an email.
The price cuts follow several consecutive price hikes due to a prolonged rally that lifted ICE arabica coffee futures to a 34-year high above $3 per lb in May 2011. Prices have since dropped more than 40 percent and are near a 20-month low.
Effective immediately, Kraft reduced prices on Maxwell House and Yuban roast and ground coffee brands by about 6 percent, and Gevalia roast and ground sold in retail outlets by approximately 10 percent, MacConnell said.
Non-flavored instant coffees, excluding those sold under the Maxwell House International trademark, are reduced by about 4 percent, she said.
(Reporting By Marcy Nicholson)
