Kenya’s coffee sector has recorded a positive turn this week after earnings at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) rose to Sh648 million, compared to Sh554 million realised in the previous auction.
According to NCE reports, a total of 10,347 bags of coffee presented by nine brokerage firms were confirmed and sold, while 584 bags were withdrawn from the 10,931 bags that had been provisionally listed.
The withdrawal rate by coffee brokers stood at 5 per cent.
KCCEMA Brokerage Company accounted for the highest withdrawals at 23 per cent (79 out of 351 bags), followed by New KPCU at 10 per cent (349 out of 3,499 bags), and Minnesota Marketers at 9 per cent (60 out of 692 bags).
Alliance Berries Ltd had a modest withdrawal of 3 per cent (96 out of 2,839 bags). In contrast, CEBBA, Kinya Coffee, Kipkelion, Meru Union, and United Eastern offered full consignments without any withdrawals.
In Sale 36 of the current coffee year, the average price across all grades stood at Sh47,817 per 50-kilogramme bag. Prices ranged from Sh13,954 to Sh56,073 per bag.
Notably, two lots fetched the high price of Sh55,814 per bag. These included 21 bags of grade AA from Kiganjo Factory under Thiririka Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS) in Kiambu County, and three bags of grade AA from Kanyiriri Factory, part of Rugi FCS in Nyeri County.
In the estates section, Ibonia Farm in Kiambu recorded a strong performance with 11 bags of grade AA selling at Sh55,556 per bag.
A total of 771 bags, equivalent to 7 per cent of the traded volume, achieved prices above Sh51,680 per bag, signalling stronger returns for coffee farmers in the current auction.
The top five buyers by volume were Ibero Kenya Ltd, which bought 2,901 bags worth Sh169.7 million; C.Dormans SEZ Ltd, which bought 2,412 bags worth Sh150.2 million; and Louis Dreyfus Company, which purchased 1,491 bags worth Sh85.2 million.
Other significant buyers included Kenyacof Limited, acquiring 1,452 bags worth Sh87 million, and Taylor Winch (Coffee) Limited, with 1,162 bags.
The five firms accounted for approximately 84 per cent of the total volume traded, underscoring the strong influence of major buyers on Kenya’s coffee market dynamics.
Source: KenyaNews
Credit Image: The Standard Kenya
