coffee holding co inc shares were down 77 to 432 in afternoon trading after reporting lower sales for the fiscal year the wholesale coffee roaster and dealer reported fiscal year net sales were 639 million down from 743 million in the previous fiscal year the decrease in net sales was due to the effects of the covid19 pandemic which caused many of the companys green coffee customers who service the restaurant and foodservice industry as well as its customers in the foodservice space to close or suspend their business operations gross profit was 16 million up from 131 million attributable to increased margins on the companys roasted and branded products and green coffee sales in the last part of the year the company said that after years of low coffee prices this year saw a return to a more traditional coffee market characterized by wide swings in prices on a weekly basis and an increase in trading volumes with heightened volatility we believe the higher coffee prices partly caused by dry weather and a july frost in brazil will remain in the nearterm as the market recalibrates the change in the fundamentals of world supply and demand said chief executive andrew gordon although higher coffee prices proved to be beneficial to us during the second half of fiscal 2021 as a result of our ability to manage and control our green coffee inventory costs we were not immune to the same factors impacting costs and the overall economy including supply chain and inflationary pressures mr gordon said