Coffee is a daily commodity for city dwellers all over the world. For some, drinking coffee is part of a routine and it cannot be easily taken out of one coffee lover's system. However, there are these new reports that coffee fungus may be raising the prices of high-end coffee blends.

 According to Time, the U.S. government is raising its efforts to assist farmers in Central America battle a terrible coffee disease, and thus keep low the price of your morning joe.

There is reportedly a fungus in coffee called coffee rust, and it has now caused more than $1 billion in damages across the Latin American region. The fungus is especially dangerous to Arabica coffee, the bean consisted in most high-end, specialty coffees. Time reports that the coffee fungus is already affecting the price of some Arabica coffee in the United States.

Head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Raj Sha, spoke of the coffee problem. He said, "We are concerned because we know coffee rust is already causing massive amounts of devastation." Reports say he was expected to announce a $5 million partnership with Texas A&M University's World Coffee Research center to try to eliminate the fungus on Monday.

However, NPR reports that the government isn't just doing the partenrship to protect $4 specialty coffees. The major concern is reportedly about economic security in the small coffee farms abroad. If farmers lose their jobs, there will be more hunger and poverty in the region, which will also contribute to violence and drug trafficking.

According to Washington, it estimates that production could be down anywhere from 15 percent to 40 percent in the coming years if the coffee problem isn't handled. Furthermore, those losses could mean as many as 500,000 people could lose their jobs.

Some countries have reportedly brought the coffee fungus under control. However, many of the poorer coffee-producing countries in Latin America may not be able to solve the problem anytime soon. According to Time, countries hit hard by the coffee fungus are Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica.

Mass-produced coffee in the U.S. may come from Asia and other regions, but the richer, more expensive ones are reportedly from small, high altitude farms in Central America. Because these coffee farms are smaller, coffee farmers here don't often have enough money to buy the fungicides needed or lack the training to plant in ways that could avoid contamination of their coffee plants.

The coffee rust is called roya in Spanish. It is a fungus which is highly contagious because of airborne fungal spores. The coffee rust affects different coffee variety, however the Arabica beans are especially prone to it. Rainy weather even worsens the problem.

Leonardo Lombardini of Texas A&M's World Coffee Research said, "We don't see an end in sight anytime soon." Up to now, major U.S. coffee companies have still been able to find enough supply to avoid price increases. However, some smaller stores already have higher prices, said Ric Rhinehart of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

According to Rhinehart, the worst-case scenario may be that consumers will eventually pay "extraordinarily high prices for those coffees, if you can find them at all." He said that some very specialized varieties from a single origin have been more difficult to find. If the problem continues, Rhinehart says that some small coffee companies may either raise prices or use blends that are easier to find, which could decrease the quality of the coffee.

Large companies such as Starbucks and Keurig Green Mountain Inc. have multiple suppliers across the region and so far have been able to source enough coffee. Lindsey Bolger, Heads of coffee sourcing for Keurig Green Mountain says, "It's a little bit too soon to tell what the impact will be on supply and long term quality over time."

The companies are reportedly working closely with coffee growers on better practices which will help avoid contamination. Executive Vice President Craig Russell of Starbucks Global Coffee said, "Supporting the farmer's ability to access information, technology and resources allows them to adapt to these uncertainties and ensures the longevity of our industry's supply chain." Time reports that Starbucks even bought a Costa Rican farm for research purposes.

The U.S. has also already collaborated with some of the coffee companies and other international organizations to invest in the replanting of different varieties of trees.

Coffee epidemic may continue to grow if not stopped immediately, but with the government, organizations and coffee lovers working together, fighting the coffee fungus will be easier for the farmers.