NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Philip Morris Cos.' Kraft Foods unit Tuesday became the latest coffee processor to lower the cost of its popular brands, reflecting a general price decline for coffee beans.
Effective Aug. 24, the company will lower the price of a standard 13-ounce can of regular Maxwell House coffee by 20 cents to $2.31 and decaffeinated 20 cents to $3.01.
Maxwell House also cut the price of an 8-ounce jar of instant coffee by 12 cents to $3.52.
Kraft's move follows an identical price cut announced last week by Folgers Coffee Co., a unit of Procter & Gamble Co.[PG]. Folgers is the nation's No. 1 coffee roaster, followed by Maxwell House.
The price cuts were announced to the trade Friday, and are the second round to be announced this year. In April, both Kraft and Folgers reduced prices an average of 25 cents. Those cuts took effect in May.
Since late February, coffee beans have fallen 60 cents a pound on the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange. Analysts attribute the 34 percent decline to expectations of a larger-than-expected Brazilian crop.
Shares of Proctor and Gamble were up 2-1/8 to 93-5/16 Tuesday afternoon and Philip Morris [MO] shares were up 5/16 to 40-1/16.
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