Market News

Coffee prices down 14pc Nairobi weekly auction

coffee

The price of coffee in the world market has been falling since last November. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The price of Kenyan coffee continued to dip at the auction, shedding 14 percent on Tuesday as international price of the commodity remained depressed.

A market report by the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicates that a 50-kilogramme bag of coffee fetched Sh15,600 in the weekly trading, down from Sh18,700 the previous sale.

In last week’s trading, coffee lost 12 percent of its value compared to the previous sale. This was until then the lowest price to be recorded since the beginning of the year.

This week’s trading saw Kenya’s premium coffee grade AA record much lower price at Sh22,300, down from 28,400 for a 50-kilogramme bag.

NCE says the auction is getting enough volumes of high-quality coffee, which would normally help to maintain high prices.

World market

It had last month said the good prices were expected to hold up to this month as the main crop from central Kenya continues to enter the market.

The price of coffee in the world market has been falling since last November when it hit a low of 113 cents a pound before sliding further on Wednesday to 98 cents per pound.

Earnings from coffee dropped 13 per cent in the four months to January compared to the same period last year due to low prices for Arabica at the international market.

The Coffee Directorate data show farmers earned $41 million (Sh4 billion) in four months to January against $47.7 million (Sh4.77 billion) last year.