Six major coffee buyers accounted for 85 per cent of the coffee traded at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) Sale 36, highlighting the continued dominance of a few players in Kenya’s coffee auction market.
The auction at Wakulima House, Nairobi, generated Sh946.98 million from the sale of 1,067,915 kilograms of clean coffee contained in 17,315 bags.
According to the provisional market report, coffee fetched an overall average price of Sh44,410 per 50-kilogramme bag, translating to approximately Sh136 per kilogramme of cherry before deductions for processing, marketing and other factory costs.
The highest price of the sale was Sh56,035 per 50-kilogramme bag for an AA-grade consignment from Tegu Coffee Factory, affiliated with Tekangu Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Nyeri County. The coffee was marketed through Alliance Berries Limited.
New Kenya Planters’ Cooperative Union (New KPCU) handled the largest volume among the marketing agents, selling 4,949 bags weighing 305,083 kilogrammes at an average of Sh 44,258 per bag.
Alliance Berries Limited was the second-largest marketer, handling 3,470 bags weighing 214,212 kilogrammes at an average price of Sh46,328 per bag. Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company followed with 2,947 bags, which fetched an average of Sh42,058 per bag.
Meru County Coffee Marketing Agency sold 1,194 bags at an average of Sh46,587 per bag, while KCCE Marketing Agency handled 1,096 bags at an average of Sh46,846. Coffee Estates Bourgeoisie Brokers marketed 1,063 bags at an average of Sh45,034 per bag.
United Eastern Kenya Coffee Marketing Company recorded the highest average among the participating brokers, selling 41,856 kilograms at an average of Sh 46,847 per 50-kilogramme bag.
Other marketing agents participating in the sale included Kinya Coffee Marketing Agency, Caffora Coffee Company, Ahadi Coffee, Minnesota Coffee Marketers, Nandi Coffee Cooperative Union Coffee Brokers and Murang’a County Coffee Dealers.
On the buying side, Ibero Kenya emerged as the leading buyer after purchasing 4,230 bags, representing 24.48 per cent of the total volume offered, at a value of about Sh230 million.
Kenyacof Limited followed with 4,009 bags, while C. Dormans SEZ bought 3,451 bags. Taylor Winch purchased 1,195 bags, Global Mark Foods 901 bags and Sondhi Trading 841 bags.
Collectively, the six leading buyers purchased 903,073 kilograms, equivalent to about 85 per cent of the coffee offered at the auction.
The three largest buyers, Ibero Kenya, Kenyacof Limited and C. Dormans SEZ, alone controlled about 68 percent of the day’s traded volume, demonstrating the significant influence of large buyers on price discovery and market dynamics at the NCE.
Grade AB coffee recorded the largest volume, with 6,869 bags sold for Sh403.5 million. Grade C followed, with 5,107 bags generating Sh278.5 million.
A total of 1,497 bags of AA coffee were offered and fetched Sh94 million, with the grade producing the highest price of the sale.
The results come amid continued efforts by the coffee sector to improve farmer returns through better quality, value addition, transparent marketing and stronger access to both local and international markets.
The performance of the premium AA coffee, particularly the Tegu consignment, also underlines the importance of quality improvement at farm and factory level as farmers seek better prices for their produce.
The NCE weekly auctions remain a key platform for price discovery in Kenya’s coffee industry, bringing together cooperative societies, estates, marketing agents and international and local buyers.
For coffee-producing counties such as Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga and Meru, auction performance remains an important indicator of market conditions and the potential returns farmers can expect from their coffee during the season.
By Bernard Munyao
