Kenya's coffee output rose to 34,874 tonnes in the first half of 2005 from 33,413 in the same period in 2004, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said on Thursday. "Coffee output rose by 4.4 percent in the first half of 2005 to 34,874 tonnes," the bank said in its latest monthly economic report.
The CBK did not give reasons for the slight improvement but coffee officials say firmer global prices have encouraged peasant farmers to take better care of their coffee bushes.
The ministry of agriculture says production in the current 2004/05 (October-September) crop year is expected to jump to 65,000 tonnes from around 50,000 the previous year.
Kenya's coffee production has been depressed in recent years due to weaker global prices and mismanagement in farmers' co-operative societies.
Kenya is a small coffee producer internationally and is ranked as the fifth largest producer in Africa. But its arabica coffee beans are in high demand because they are used to blend coffees from other origins, analysts say.
Coffee accounts for 3.4 percent of Kenya's total exports.