About 85 per cent of Kenyan coffee is sold through the auction with the balance sold directly to buyers overseas.
The government has been pushing for the elimination of middlemen and direct sales to enable growers earn more from their crop.
The long-entrenched traders stand accused of exploiting farmers.
Coffee earnings between last October and April improved by 31 per cent compared with a previous similar period as good prices and high volumes pushed up the value.
Statistics from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicate that the value rose from $100.1 million (Sh10 billion) to $130.9 million (Sh13 billion) in the period under review on account of improved prices. The volume of the produce grew by 10.6 per cent, from 24 tonnes to 26 tonnes in the corresponding period in 2017.
“The increments observed were due to the surge in prices at the exchange caused majorly by an anticipated shortage of the high quality beans in the foreseeable future,” said NCE chief executive officer Daniel Mbithi.
“These improvements in volumes sold over this period were due to the good prices discovered at the auction, which were as a result of the overall lower volumes expected in the year.”
He said farmers had pushed more coffee to the market to take advantage of the prices. The average price per 50 kilogrammes jumped from $205 to $243 in the period under review. The volume and value of the crop are expected to drop as the main crop comes to an end later this month.
Sale will resume in July. “The main crop has now come to a successful end and as such the last auction will be Sale 25 of May 23 after which we take a break until July 25 when Sale 26 will be held marking the start of the fly crop,” said NCE in a statement.
About 85 per cent of Kenyan coffee is sold through the auction with the balance sold directly to buyers overseas.
The government has been pushing for the elimination of middlemen and direct sales to enable growers earn more from their crop.
The long-entrenched traders stand accused of exploiting farmers.
The high coffee earnings come as relief for the country after tea earnings fell 35 per cent over seven months following a prolonged drought.Both crops are leading forex earners.
