The Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) auction conducted on Tuesday witnessed a high volume of 46,984 bags weighing 2,868,424 kilos of coffee that fetched Sh2.56 billion.
Due to the high volume of coffee, the trade that was conducted at Wakulima House in Nairobi lasted for more than 14 hours.
Despite the high volume traded in Sale 16 of the current coffee season, the average price for a 50-kilo bag of coffee was Sh44,679, which was lower as compared to the average price of Sh49,665 that was attained in last week’s auction.
Fifteen marketing agents participated in the weekly auction, with Alliance Berries Limited commanding 32 per cent market share after trading 15,027 bags at Sh825 million.
Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company Ltd achieved the highest average price of Sh49,278 across their 9,735 bags, accounting for 20.7 per cent of the market.
New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union PLC secured third place with 4,621 bags that fetched Sh251.7 million, commanding 9.8 per cent market share.
Kipkelion Broker Company Ltd followed with 4,421 bags (9.4 percent share), while KCCE Marketing Agency Limited rounded out the top five with 4,316 bags (9.2 percent share).
Other notable brokers included Kinya Coffee Marketing Agency Ltd (1,761 bags), Coffee Estates Bourgeoisie Brokers Limited (1,677 bags) and Minnesota Coffee Marketers Limited (1,225 bags).
The remaining brokers were Meru County Coffee Marketing Agency (1,093 bags), Mt. Elgon Coffee Marketing Agency (1,062 bags), United Eastern Kenya Coffee Marketing Co. Ltd (943 bags), Murang’a County Coffee Dealers (920 bags) and Kiambu Coffee Marketing Limited (183 bags).
In the category of coffee dealers, Ibero Kenya Ltd led all buyers after purchasing 16,209 bags, representing 34.5 per cent of the total market at Sh867.5 million.
- Dormans SEZ Ltd came in second by purchasing 8,641 bags at Sh515 million, while Kenyacof Limited secured 5,466 bags at Sh305.6 million.
Other dealers included Louis Dreyfus Company, which acquired 4,646 bags; Sasini (K) Limited, which took 4,497 bags; and Taylor Winch (Coffee) Limited, which rounded out the top six with 3,520 bags.
According to the NCE report, the top six buyers controlled 92 per cent of the market, purchasing a combined 42,979 bags.
In the auction, 14,365 bags of AA grade coffee were traded, fetching Sh831 million, while AB grade dominated with 22,639 bags, earning Sh1.24 billion. Coffee of the two premium grades represented nearly half of all coffee sold.
The C grade, PB (Peaberry) and various speciality grades made up the remainder of the market, with prices ranging from Sh13,416 to Sh57,018 depending on quality.
By Bernard Munyao
