Kenya's coffee production fell slightly in the first nine months of 2006 to 40,926 tonnes from 41,083 tonnes in the same period last year, the central bank said in its latest monthly economic review. However, the average price per tonne rose to $2,626 in the first three quarters of 2006 compared to $2,361 per tonne in the same period last year.
"Coffee production declined by 0.4 percent to 40,926 tonnes. However, average coffee prices improved by 11.2 percent," the bank said. Kenyan coffee output has averaged 50,000 tonnes per year in the last few years compared to its high of 130,000 tonnes achieved in 1987/88 crop year. Traders estimate the country will produce 52,449 tonnes of coffee in the current 2006/07 crop year.
The east African country is a tiny producer but its high quality beans are used to improve those from other regions of the world. Coffee, formerly the leading foreign exchange earner for Kenya, now trails tea, tourism and horticulture.
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