Coffee prices in a downward trend

Coffee prices fell by five per cent at the auction this week, marking the third time in a row that the commodity has registered a decline since June when trading resumed from recess.

A market report from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicates a 50-kilogramme bag of the produce fetched Sh17,000 on average this week down from Sh18,000 recorded in the previous auction.

According to the NCE, there have been a mixture of different coffee catalogues in the recent sales, which has lowered the quality.

“There was a slight decline in quality of coffee where different beans that had earlier been rejected at the auction was mixed with others, bringing down the value,” said NCE.

Prices had been on the increase in June and July due to a rise in volume of quality beans as the short-term crop from Eastern Kenya started getting to the market.

Before June, the price of coffee at the auction had dipped to as low as Sh10,000 for the 50 kilo bag following a decline in quality as the main crop season from central Kenya ended.

Due to the lower quality beans offered this month, the price of Kenya’s premium coffee-AA fell from Sh32,000 last week to Sh31,000 in the latest sale held on Tuesday.

Market data from the NCE indicates the value of coffee dropped from Sh13.8 billion last year in July to Sh13.1 billion in the period under review, representing a 5.2 per cent decline.

Kenya’s coffee is mainly traded at the New York Coffee Exchange where any change in price affects the local sales.

The country plans to raise the amount of coffee roasted locally from five to 10 per cent annually over the next five years even as production remains low.