Commodities

Coffee price falls 6 percent as main crop season ends

farmer

A coffee farmer tends the crop. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The average price of coffee slipped by six per cent during Tuesday’s closing sale of the main crop season, on lower quality, marking the end of an impressive trading window despite the disruptions of Covid-19.

A 50-kilogramme bag of the produce traded at Sh21,277 at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), down from Sh22,680 during the previous sale even as traders went on a month-long recess until June 14.

Traders said this has been one of the best seasons for them as coffee prices remained high on good demand in the international market.

“The prices are very strong at the moment given that this season is nearly coming to an end and we are still recording prices of over $200,” said NCE.

The price of the commodity in New York, where Kenya trades nearly all of its coffee, has been stable for some time with a bag selling at as high as 131 cents per pound from a low of 120 previously.

The current crop at the auction has been coming from central Kenya, which is the main coffee producing zone in the country.

When the auction resumes in June, it will receive a short season crop from eastern and western Kenya with the main crop season expected to start again in November.

Coffee earnings grew by 92 percent at the end of February compared with the same period last year as good price, high volumes and weak shilling pushed up the value.

Market report from the NCE indicated that the crop earned Kenya Sh8.7 billion at the end of February, up from Sh4.5 billion that was realised in the same time last year.