Markets & Finance

Exchange to go on 30-day break as coffee season ends

ceo

Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) chief executive Daniel Mbithi. PHOTO | FILE

The Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) will go for a 30-day recess next month as the main crop season in central Kenya comes to an end.

NCE chief executive officer Daniel Mbithi said that the auction has been receiving low quality coffee in recent sales as farmers have almost exhausted their crop.

The low quality berries have seen the price of the commodity drop from Sh13,000 last week to Sh12,000 for a 50 kilogramme bag.

“We are breaking for recess next month as our main crop season comes to an end with the dwindling volumes and quality of coffee at the auction,” said Mr Mbithi.

The coffee auction started the season at Sh15,655 per 50 kilogramme bag, rising to a peak of Sh24,038 in March before falling to the current figure.

The NCE is, however, hopeful of a price recovery as high quality coffee from eastern Kenya comes in to boost prices to the level witnessed at the beginning of the year.

Data from the NCE indicates the crop earned the country Sh10.1 billion between October last year and April this year compared to Sh10.6 billion fetched in the previous comparable period, with decline partly blamed on low quality berries.

The volumes of coffee sold through the auction increased to 24.3 tonnes compared with 23.8 tonnes last year.

The value of coffee at the NCE declined by nine per cent to Sh8.5 billion in the half-year to March due to lower volumes.