A total of 12, 296 bags equivalent to 763, 212 kilograms of coffee were traded at Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) auction on Tuesday generating Sh765 million.
The amount garnered was lower compared to Sh846 million which was realized in Sale 6 conducted last week.
The highest price fetched during the Sale 7 of the current coffee season was Sh61,620 per bag of a 50-kilogram bag for a lot of 38 AA-grade bags from the Getuya factory of Kirinyaga County.
Average price attained in the auction was Sh50,180 per 50-kilogram or Sh153 per kilo of clean cherry.
The NCE report stated that 10 coffee brokers participated, offering 3,905 bags of grade AA, 4,598 bags of AB and 997 bags of C, that earned cooperatives and coffee estates Sh267.6 million, Sh296.5 million and Sh61.8 million respectively.
Alliance Berries Limited led the pack marketing 3,227 bags for Sh208.4 million, New KPCU 1,985 bags (Sh120.9 million), Kipkelion 1,821 bags (Sh17.7 million), and KCCE 1,353 bags (Sh78.8 million).
Other brokers which participated in the auction included Kirinyaga Slopes (983 bags), Minnesota Marketers (762 bags), United Eastern (478 bags), Kinya Coffee (606) and Coffee Estates Bourgeoisie (965).
In the category of buyers, 15 dealers participated with five companies accounting for a commanding 79 percent of the total market value, highlighting their dominant presence in the auction.
Ibero Kenya Ltd led the pack, purchasing 3,377 bags representing 28 percent of the market at Sh214.9 million, Louis Dreyfus bought 2,523 bags at Sh153.6 million while C. Dormans got 1,919 bags valued at Sh127.4 million.
Taylor Winch Ltd and Kenyacof Limited rounded out the top five by purchasing coffee worth Sh65.4 million and Sh51.7 million, respectively.
NCE CEO Lisper Ndung’u underscored the need for production of high-quality coffee saying the majority of international buyers were interested in premium coffee.
“We expect more quality coffee to be offered at the auction in the future to meet the demand of the buyers. High quality coffee fetches a better price which is a great benefit to farmers,” said Ms Ndung’u.
By Bernard Munyao
