The prices of Kenyan coffee firmed at the latest sale, with top grade AA fetching a record $1,011 per 50-kg bag, data from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) showed. On the second sale of the year, NCE attributed the high price to low coffee supply.
The benchmark AA coffee fetched $1,011-$256 per 50-kg bag from $1,008-$283 per bag last week, according to NCE data released late on Tuesday. Overall, the average price for all Kenyan coffee grades increased to $450.28 from $433.93 last week. Grade AB sold at $759-$280 per bag, compared with $565-$249 at last week's sale, NCE said.
NCE said 26,079 bags were offered, with 14,184 sold for $7.79 million. Last week, 26,317 bags were offered with 19,378 sold for $10.21 million. Daniel Mbithi, an official at NCE, said the high demand for the beans had forced the NCE to hold the auction weekly as opposed once every two weeks when supply is low.