The first Nairobi coffee auction of the 2026/27 season raised 801 million Kenya shillings (Ksh), with Meru lots and one dominant buyer setting the pace.
Trading at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) began on October 6. In total, 17,084 bags weighing 1,056,615 kg were sold for $6,196,682. Fourteen marketing agents brought 1,045 lots to the floor.
Prices averaged $293 for every 50kg bag. That works out to about Ksh758 per kilo of clean coffee, or Ksh117 per kilo of cherry.
Buyers showed a clear appetite for premium beans. AB was the biggest seller, taking 41 percent of volume at an average of $325. AA followed with 16 percent of the coffee on offer, yet it fetched the best average of any grade at $338. Meanwhile, C accounted for 14 percent at $296, and PB made up 5 percent at $322. Together, these four grades represented 76 percent of everything sold.
Lower grades traded at softer prices. Mbuni heavy (MH) held 11 percent of volume and averaged $214. T grade took 4 percent at $199, while TT claimed 3 percent at $279. UG1 and Mbuni light (ML) each accounted for 2 percent. UG1 averaged $222, but ML dropped to just $98. Minor grades covered the remainder.
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Meru growers dominated the top of the price board. Nchoroiboro AA from Muguna Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS) fetched the highest bid of the day at $382, and Sondhi Trading bought it. Next came Kipsinende FCS AA from Kipkelion at $367, which Kenyacof secured. Kandigi AA from Mikumbune FCS followed at $365.
Four more lots then tied at $363. These were Konyu AA, Mukengeria AA, Rugeju AA from Mikumbune and Mbaranga AA from Tigania North. Notably, Sondhi Trading bought six of the seven lots priced above $362. In effect, a single buyer shaped the upper end of the market.
By contrast, few lots sold under the Confirmed status. Only 45 lots qualified, representing 4 percent of lots and 3 percent of both volume and value. The other 96 percent moved through standard auction bidding.
By Benedict Aoya
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