Kenya coffee prices jumped on Tuesday as exporters competed strongly for the limited volume of high quality coffee from the early crop on offer, and as the market took its traditional month-long break, traders said.
The average price for Tuesday's auction was $107.90 per 50-kg compared with $103.15 per 50-kg last week. "The reason for the prices being so high today was because traders want to get hold of some coffee so that they can do something in the next month," said a trader at a leading coffee export firm. "Obviously if you can't buy some coffee you can't trade it."
Traders said the quality of the coffee on offer was mixed with good quality early crop from the estate growers offered at the auction but in limited quantities. The early crop from the smallholder growers is likely to hit the market soon after the auction resumes on September 5. The Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) said 7,726 60-kg bags of coffee were offered for sale at the auction with 5,961 bags sold.
Kenya is not a big producer of coffee but its top quality beans grown in highlands near Mount Kenya are used to blend coffees from other origins.
The east African country last week published rules that would allow farmers to sale their coffee either through the central auction or opt for direct sales to markets abroad.
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