Kenya's coffee earnings fall

Earnings from coffee sold through Kenya's weekly auction fell by more than a third in the first half of the growing season as poor quality beans and low international prices weighed, casting doubt on full-year targets for the crop. Although the east African nation is a small coffee producer relative to major players like Brazil and Vietnam, its speciality beans are much sought after for blending with those from other countries.
Earnings from beans sold at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) between October and March fell 33.72 percent to $67.34 million from a year ago, according to a report by the Kenya Coffee Traders Association (KCTA), which runs the auctions. The average price realised fell to $180.73 per 50kg from $286.89. Kenya exports about 90 percent of its coffee through the NCE while the rest is directly sold by growers to foreign buyers.