Kenyan coffee prices were down sharply this week on the back of lower New York prices, market participants said on Tuesday. The average price for the 14,715 bags on offer dropped to $176.21 per 50-kg bag from last week's $188.66.
A total of 9,047 bags were sold at the auction. "Prices were generally down by around $3-4, basically due to the international market, New York, which is now starting to move downward," said Ransley Coffee Company's Chris Ransley. He said there was demand for the beans on offer at the auction, but it had not stemmed the fall. Like other markets in the region, Nairobi's Coffee Exchange looks to New York as a reference market, thus reflecting its fortunes, said Ransley.