Coffee traded at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) increased to Sh1.17 billion during Sale 35 held this week, with both the volume traded and average prices registering gains compared to the previous auction.
A total of 20,829 bags weighing 1,279,470 kilogrammes of clean coffee were traded at the auction, up from 18,089 bags weighing 1,115,430 kilogrammes sold during Sale 34 last week.
The latest auction earned coffee growers and estates Sh1.17 billion, compared with Sh.994 million realized in the previous sale, representing an 18 percent increase in value.
The volume of coffee offered also increased by about 15 percent, while the average price rose by nearly three percent from Sh44,462 to Sh45,755 per 50-kilogramme bag.
The stronger prices translated into an estimated cherry equivalent of about Sh.141 per kilogramme before factory processing and other associated costs are deducted, compared with approximately Sh137 per kilogramme in the previous sale.
The improved performance indicates stronger demand for Kenyan coffee at the exchange, with the increase in the value of coffee traded outpacing the growth in volume.
An AA grade consignment from Karii Coffee Factory in Kirinyaga County, marketed by Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company, fetched the highest price of the day at Sh53,519 per 50-kilogramme bag.
The price surpassed last week’s top price of Sh52,993, further underlining the firming trend witnessed during the latest auction.
New KPCU presented the largest catalogue, offering 6,406 bags which fetched Sh364 million. Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company followed with 4,371 bags worth Sh242.4 million, while Alliance Berries sold 3,883 bags for Sh228.6 million.
The three brokers accounted for about 70 percent of the total coffee volume traded during the auction.
At the lower end of the market, Kiambu Coffee Marketing and Murang’a County Coffee Dealers each presented slightly more than 200 bags.
Only 10 marketing agents participated in Sale 35, compared with 15 in the previous auction, meaning a larger volume of the national crop was channeled through fewer brokers.
On the buyers’ side, Ibero Kenya emerged as the leading purchaser, buying 6,564 bags valued at Sh378.5 million, and accounting for about 32 percent of the auction’s total value.
Kenyacof purchased 5,284 bags valued at Sh295.8 million, while C. Dormans bought 2,335 bags worth Sh139 million.
Other major buyers included Mumbi Coffee Merchants, which purchased 1,615 bags, Louis Dreyfus Company with 1,342 bags and Taylor Winch (Coffee) Ltd with 820 bags.
The six leading buyers collectively purchased about 88 percent of the coffee volume traded, demonstrating a highly concentrated buying pattern at the latest auction.
According to the NCE auction records, AB was the most traded grade, with 9,325 bags accounting for about 44 percent of the total volume. The grade fetched an average of Sh48,727 per 50-kilogramme bag.
A total of 1,819 bags of AA coffee were traded at an average price of Sh49,502 per bag, while 6,457 bags of C grade, representing about 31 percent of the total volume, fetched an average of Sh44,720 per bag.
The NCE provides a central platform through which Kenyan coffee is offered to licensed buyers, allowing different grades and qualities to compete in an organized market.
Prices achieved at the exchange are influenced by factors including coffee quality, grade, global demand, and availability and prevailing international market conditions.
The latest auction comes as the Kenyan coffee sector continues to focus on improving farmer returns through better quality, value addition, transparent marketing and access to competitive markets.
According to NCE CEO Lisper Ndung’u, the increase in both the quantity traded and the average price in Sale 35 offers a positive indication for growers, particularly as higher auction prices have a direct bearing on the eventual payments received by farmers after deductions for processing, marketing and other factory-level costs.
She added that the continued performance of Kenyan coffee at the NCE is also significant to the country’s coffee economy given the crop’s importance as a source of foreign exchange and income for thousands of smallholder farmers and coffee estates.
By Bernard Munyao
