Coffee price rises eight per cent on improved quality

The price of coffee rose eight per cent this week marking one of the best performances since the beginning of the year.

A market report by the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) shows that a 50 kilogramme bag was sold at Sh24,411 up from Sh22,557 in this week’s trading. The price increase was attributed to better quality beans from central Kenya coming to the market following delays triggered by bad weather.

According to the NCE, the price is expected to rise as the region supplies the market with more beans.

“We expect the price to firm up going forward because we are getting good crop from farmers,” said Daniel Mbithi, the NCE chief executive.

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The value of Kenyan coffee dropped by Sh422 million in the year to December 2017 as the low quality beans lowered the price of the beverage.

An NCE report indicated that the value of the beverage dropped to Sh2.2 billion last year from Sh2.6 billion in comparable period 2015.

Mr Mbithi said that heavy rains between November and early December prevented the crop from reaching the market on time, hurting quality.