Nairobi: Sale 6 at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) on Tuesday witnessed a significant increase in coffee trading, with 13,821 bags auctioned, resulting in a revenue of Sh886 million. The volume of coffee traded across 923 lots marked a 97 percent increase from the 7,033 bags auctioned in Sale 5 last week.
According to Kenya News Agency, the auction held at Wakulima House in Nairobi recorded an average price of Sh51,800 per 50-kilogram bag, equating to Sh159 per kilo of clean cherries. The highest price during this sale was Sh67,572 per bag for 33 bags of Grade AA from the KII Factory, part of Rung’eto Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS) in Kirinyaga County.
Two other lots secured impressive prices: 67 bags of AA from the Karogoto Factory under Tekangu FCS in Nyeri County fetched Sh66,667 per bag, and another lot of 35 bags from the Gakuyu-ini Factory under Thirikwa FCS in Kirinyaga County fetched Sh65,892 per bag.
On the brokers’ front, Alliance Berries led by trading 3,436 bags for a total of Sh232 million. New KPCU PLC followed with 3,026 bags, earning Sh188 million, and Kipkelion Broker Company sold 1,391 bags for Sh90 million. Kirinyaga Slopes traded 1,196 bags at an average price of Sh48,967 per bag, while United Eastern handled 918 bags at Sh50,259 per bag.
Additional participants included CEBBA with 886 bags, Mt Elgon with 609 bags, Minnesota Marketers with 607 bags, KCCEMA with 520 bags, Kinya Coffee with 504 bags, and several others contributing to the auction’s success.
On the dealer side, C. Dormans SEZ Ltd emerged as the top purchaser with 3,319 bags, translating to 26.2 percent of the total volume, valued at Sh234.7 million. Kenyacof Ltd followed closely with 2,989 bags, accounting for 21.7 percent of the total volume traded at Sh191 million. Louis Dreyfus Company purchased 2,327 bags for Sh141 million, Ibero Kenya Ltd acquired 1,960 bags for Sh126 million, and Taylor Winch Coffee Ltd bought 1,360 bags for Sh88.5 million. Collectively, these five companies accounted for approximately 89 percent of the total market value.
In terms of coffee grades, over 70 percent of the traded coffee comprised premium AA and AB grades, with AA accounting for 36.36 percent and AB for 35.31 percent. These were followed by C grade at 8.98 percent, PB at 5.71 percent, and other grades, including TT, T, E, and unwashed coffees such as MH, ML, NH, and NL, making up the remaining 14 percent.
