Coffee prices at Nairobi auction drop by nine per cent

NCE chief executive Daniel Mbithi. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By GERALD ANDAE

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Summary

• A 50 kilogramme bag of coffee was sold at Sh26,058 in this week’s trading, down from Sh28,684 in the previous sale.
• Coffee prices have been on an upward trajectory since the first sale of 2017 following an increase in high quality beans from farmers.

Coffee prices at the weekly Nairobi auction have dropped by nine per cent, marking the first decline since the beginning of the year after a series of higher prices.

A market report by the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicates a 50 kilogramme bag of coffee was sold at Sh26,058 in this week’s trading, down from Sh28,684 in the previous sale. Coffee prices have been on an upward trajectory since the first sale of 2017 following an increase in high quality beans from farmers.

“The prices have dropped but they are within a good range,” said NCE chief executive Daniel Mbithi, who could not immediately give the cause for the decline. The coffee that is trading at the auction currently is coming in from the main crop season in central Kenya.

The harvesting season starts every October with supplies running all the way to March.

READ: Coffee price up by Sh200, hits highest mark in 2018

Last year the crop was hit by drought that affected most parts of the country leading to postponement of auctions at some point. Coffee prices dropped 13 per cent in four months to January as low international prices and delays in getting the commodity to the market at the end of last year.

Data from the NCE indicates earnings dropped from Sh5.5 billion ($55 million) in October last year to Sh4.7 billion ($47 million) in the period under review.