Kenya's coffee auction sales fell 26 percent in the 2007/08 (October-September) crop to 39.5 million kg from 53.4 million, on low output following bad weather and disease, according to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE). Earnings, however, fell by a lower margin of 2 percent to $139.87 million from $143 million in the previous year because the average price rose to $177.23 per 60-kg bag compared with $133.98 in the 2006/07 season, NCE statistics showed on Tuesday.
"Globally, prices went up and this reflected on Kenyan coffee sales," said Daniel Mbithi, an official of the Kenya Coffee Producers and Traders Association that runs the auction. The east African producer enjoys premium prices for its gourmet beans although it has a relatively small output.
Its weekly sale, held in the Kenyan capital, closed for two months over May-July, instead of a traditional four-week break, after volumes dried up following bad weather and a bout of Coffee Berry Disease. NCE said sales in the first three months of the current 2008/09 season were 7.78 million kg worth $23.35 million. This compares with 8.53 million kg that sold for $25.89 million during the same period in the previous year.
Mbithi said direct sales between farmers and buyers overseas more than doubled to an estimated 35,000 bags during the last crop year. In the previous season, Kenya sold 16,400 bags through the system the government allowed only a couple of years ago.
Producers had long complained that an unending string of middlemen left them with nothing to show for their labour before the authorities finally allowed them to sell directly to buyers. Using the system, the Kagumoini farmers' co-operative in central Kenya sold a lot of specialty AA grade coffee for a record $1,138 per 50-kg bags in May.
Different coffee authorities agree that output in 2008/09 will improve significantly. An association of coffee traders foresees output rising 38 percent to 57,830 tonnes on better farming practices and good weather. A different forecast by the Coffee Board of Kenya expects an increase in production to 60,000 tonnes from about 42,000 tonnes in 2007/08.