Good prices for AA coffee at Tuesday auction attributed to high quality crop from farmers in Western Kenya and Kiambu.
Grade AB, which is second in terms of grading, earned farmers Sh21,000 for a 50 kilo bag.
Officials say the trend will continue as they expect more of quality coffee from farmers.
Kenya’s top most coffee fetched Sh30,000 for a 50 kilo bag on average in Tuesday’s auction, helping lift the value of the commodity to Sh370 million in a single trading day.
A fresh market report from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicates the country’s grade AA attracted good prices at the auction, attributed to high quality crop from farmers.
Grade AB, which is second in terms of grading, earned farmers Sh21,000 for a 50 kilo bag on average in the weekly auction.
“We are now getting huge quantities of quality coffee from western Kenya and Kiambu and this has played a major role in boosting the prices,” said Daniel Mbithi, chief executive NCE.
Mr Mbithi said the trend will continue in coming sales as they expect more of the quality crop from farmers.
Earnings
Monthly earnings from coffee dropped to a 12-year low with the average price of a 50-kilogramme bag declining by 19.74 percent from Sh20,229 in October 2017 to Sh16,237.6 in a corresponding period this year.
High volumes of the produce this year and low international prices affected farmers’ earnings at the auction.
Kenya’s coffee is majorly traded at the New York Coffee Exchange and any change in price affects the local sales.
The country is seeking to raise the quantity of coffee roasted locally from five to 10 per cent annually over the next five years even as production remains low.
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