Seventeen coffee buyers on Tuesday purchased 12,313 bags of the coffee at Sh 476 million. During the weekly coffee auction at Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) the payment reflected an increase from the previous of Sh 471.2 million after the sale of 11,480 bags of the commodity.
In the market coffee from Kiriga Farm of grade PB marketed by KCCE was highest paid at Sh54,884 per bag bought by Taylor Winch. NCE Chief Executive Officer Lisper Ndung’u said in the auction market the coffee brokers led by Alliance Berries Limited, New KPCU, Kirinyaga Slopes and Meru Union presented 8,344 bags of quality coffee of grades AA and AB that were bought at Sh 333 million.
She said only eight coffee brokers participated in the market out of 15 licensed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). ” As the regulator we advocate to the farmers to ensure they produce the quality grades that are highly sought by the buyers,” said Ms Ndung’u.
The coffee brokers, the report indicated that Alliance Berries Limited presented in the auction 2,549 bags that were sold for Sh 98,130,014, New KPCU 3,765 bags for Sh144,833,906 and Kirinyaga Slopes 1,713 bags for Sh66.1 million. The NCE reports reflect that , Ibero Kenya bought 4,357 bags, Sasini 1,653 bags, Louis Dreyfus 1,613 bags, Taylor Winch 1,023 bags among others.
Kenya Coffee Producers Association Chairman Peter Gikonyo said there was a need for the growers to put more effort into producing quality coffee. ” The buyers are interested in value for their money, thus going for the best quality at the best price,” said Gikonyo.