Markets & Finance

Nairobi coffee sales take break on low supplies

MBITHI

Nairobi Coffee Exchange chief executive Daniel Mbithi. PHOTO | FILE

The weekly coffee auction took a break last week as volumes dwindled after the main crop from eastern Kenya dried up.

Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) has been grappling with low quality beans in recent auctions, with the price of the commodity falling.

In the latest auction price of the beverage dropped from an average Sh16,218 to trade at Sh15,198 per 50-kilogramme bag.

“In consultation with the marketing agents, we wish to advise that from Sale 3 (previous week) the auction dates will be different from the normal schedule,” reads a note from NCE to the stakeholders.

Chief executive Daniel Mbithi said the new schedules, which would see the auction skip a week or take place twice a month, before resuming, is meant to enable the agents to accumulate the required volumes to warrant the trading.

“We have had a shortage of the commodity and this is the reason why we did not have auction this week. We have also created new auction schedule for the coming weeks,” said Mr Mbithi.

READ: Coffee prices drop 10pc at Nairobi auction in sharpest dip since July

The next auction will be Tuesday, with the schedule released by NCE indicating that there will be only three sale activities before the end of the year.

NCE is now banking on the main crop season from central Kenya but Mr Mbithi said the ongoing rains are likely to delay the crop from farmers as the coffee will take long to dry.

“We were expecting to get the crop starting this month: this seems not to be possible because of the current rains that have hampered the drying of the berries,” he said.

Mr Mbithi said NCE foresees a situation where the crop might get to the auction starting February or March.