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Value of coffee sold at Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) this week increased to Sh824 million compared to Sh54.8 million recorded five months ago when the auction was reopened, a market report reveals.

NCE acting chief executive officer Lisper Ndungu said the auction closed on a high note, attributing the progress to enhanced quality of clean beans being offered for sale in the recent past. According to provisional results released by the NCE secretariat this week, average prices increased to $194.22 (Sh29, 909.88) compared to $186.55 (Sh28, 728.70).  The number of bags traded increased to 23,167, the highest ever since the auction was reopened on August 15, after a three-month recess.

Value of coffee increased to Sh824 million this week compared to Sh54.8 million recorded on August 15, 2023 accounting for a 1,403 per cent increase when the auction was reopened after a three-month recess.

The total numbers of bags of clean coffee traded increased to 129,224 this week out of which close to 100,000 bags were sold accounting to more than 77 per cent of the total volumes traded,” said Ndungu.

Farmers, she added, have continued to receive their produce through the Direct Settlement System (DSS), a facility currently being provided by the Cooperative Bank of Kenya. The Bank beat other commercial banks on August 10,2023. 

Since August 15, the number of buyers increased from 17 to 18 as at the end of this week while the number of sellers or coffee brokerage companies increased to 10 compared to four that participated on August 15, 2023.