Kenya’s Benchmark Coffee Price Climbs 6.9% on Reduced Supplies of Beans
Kenya’s coffee prices rose 6.9 percent at an auction today after supplies of the beans declined amid improved quality and demand, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said.
The average price for all the coffee sold climbed to $346.30 for a 50-kilogram (110-pound) bag, from $323.89 a week ago, the exchange said by e-mail from the capital, Nairobi.
The benchmark AA grade increased 5.8 percent to an average of $492.74 from $465.59 a bag last week after supplies fell 8.9 percent to 771 bags, it said.
“At the moment buyers are having a lot of orders from outside,” Kizito Keya, a coffee trader at Mumba Coffee Ltd., said by phone from Nairobi. “We had better-quality beans and people are buying heavily because there is little coffee in the country.”
Sales at the auction rose 5.7 percent to 8,052 bags valued at $3.41 million, from 7,619 bags worth $3.01 million last week, the exchange said. Supplies fell 21 percent to 14,872 bags.
The East African nation harvests the bulk of its crop from October through December, while a secondary crop is reaped from April to June.
The following are details of today’s auction in U.S. dollars for a 50-kilogram bag:
Grade Low High Average AA 412 517 492.74 AB 276 408 379.48 C 272 343 302.35 MH 92 219 179.33 ML 87 174 162.95 PB 281 429 373.60 T 202 278 251.25 TT 232 389 327.11 UG 250 280 275.02 UG1 256 340 284.65 UG2 132 268 246.05
To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.
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