Kenya’s Benchmark Coffee Grade Declined 6.1% at Auction

The price of Kenya’s benchmark AA coffee grade fell 6.1 percent to $275.23 a 50-kilogram bag at an auction today, the first after a four-week recess, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said.

The average price for the top grade dropped from $292.99 at the last sale on July 18, the board said in an e-mailed statement today from the capital, Nairobi. Supplies of the grade increased to 1,651 bags from 1,086 bags, it said. The average price for all the beans sold climbed to $169 a bag from $166.37, the board said. Supplies of all grades fell 28 percent to 23,333 bags, the exchange said.

“On the whole prices were high because of competition for the beans after the recess,” Kizito Keya, a trader at Mumba Coffee Ltd., said by phone from the city.

The following are details of today’s auction in U.S. dollars per 50-kilogram bag:

Grade          Low            High          Average
AA             198            340           275.23
AB             156            240           190.21
C              136            175           168.01
E              264            264           264.00
HE             119            119           119.00
MH             129            143           139.52
ML              70            122            77.56
PB             166            194           177.52
T               96            165           142.84
TT             152            170           163.02
UG             101            167           155.84
UG1            101            172           160.59
UG2             72            157           120.81
UG3             74             79            76.72

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ana Monteiro at amonteiro4@bloomberg.net