Rising quality and demand boost Kenyan coffee
Kenya’s coffee traders are expecting prices for the commodity to remain buoyant and demand for the beans to stay strong ahead of Christmas.
It comes amid predictions of a possible reduction in next year’s crop in Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee exporter.
The Nairobi Coffee Exchange reports 50kg bags sold for $259 (£194) each during its latest sale, $10 more than the previous auction.
The increased price is being put down to the high quality of beans on sale, but also to increased demand from traders who are betting on rising sales for Christmas.
African coffee traders are also watching the output from Brazil, as the supplies from that country always influence global prices of the commodity.
Kenya grows mainly Arabica coffee, which puts its plantations in competition with Brazilian farmers, who are expected to follow this year’s record crop with another good season, but with output steadying and not a repeat of the big surge of last year.
Kenyan farmers also face regional competition from coffee plantations in Ethiopia and Uganda.
In recent years the country’s coffee farming sector has been trying to recover from years of mismanagement.
The government in Nairobi has launched a plan to revitalise the industry.
