Prices of Kenyan coffee were mixed at Tuesday's auction with some grades drifting lower due to the low quality on offer, brokers said on Tuesday. The average price rose to $97.52 per 50-kg bag compared with $94.26 at last week's sale.
"The coffee was terrible quality. It was bits and pieces of what's left over," one exporter said. "What was sold was fairly expensive vis a vis the quality. It is all end of the season crop."
Socfinaf, one of Kenya's three marketing agent, was absent at the weekly auction. Last week, it offered some coffee from the new crop and is expected to offer more at next Tuesday's sale. Kenyan arabica coffee is renowned for its good quality and is used by roasters around the world to blend with coffees from other regions.
Some 6,917 60-kg bags were on sale compared with 11,312 bags offered last week.
According to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), top grade AA fetched a firmer $197-$129 per 50 kg compared with $180-$154 at the previous auction.
Prices of grade AB dropped to $146-$76 per bag from $151-$95 previously.