- Nairobi Coffee Exchange recorded higher prices and sales value compared with the previous auction.
- Grade AB dominated trading, while an AB lot from Kiangombe secured the highest price.
- Certified coffee attracted better prices than uncertified lots, highlighting the value of quality standards.
Buyers paid US$7.17 million, or Ksh932 million, for 1,192,242 kilogrammes of coffee at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) on Tuesday.
The sale, Sale 6 of the 2026/27 season on November 10, 2026, cleared 19,359 bags. Prices edged up from the previous week. The average reached US$301 per 50 kilogramme bag, against US$296 at Sale 5 on November 3. In turn, clean coffee earned Ksh782 per kilogramme, up from Ksh765. Volumes also grew from 1,131,513 kilogrammes, while value rose from US$6.70 million.
Even so, prices still trail last season. The exchange averaged US$339 per bag across 42 sales in 2025/26, which puts Sale 6 roughly 11 per cent lower.
Grade AB drove the day’s trading. It took 44 per cent of volume at an average of US$314. Grade AA accounted for 26 per cent and earned the highest average at US$334. Meanwhile, grade C took 11 per cent at US$288, and peaberry (PB) claimed 5 per cent at US$304.
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The single best price did not come from an AA lot. A 30 bag AB lot from Kiangombe, marketed by Kirinyaga Slopes, fetched US$374 from buyer Kenyacof.
Buying was concentrated among a few exporters. C. Dorman led with 18 per cent of total value at an average of US$328. Ibero Kenya matched that share, while Kenyacof took 17 per cent and Louis Dreyfus 15 per cent. Mumbi Coffee Merchants added 6 per cent. Together, the five bought roughly three quarters of everything sold.
Certification again earned a premium. Lots carrying Rainforest Alliance, C.A.F.E. Practices, Fairtrade or 4C credentials made up 27 per cent of volume. They averaged US$313 per bag, compared with US$296 for uncertified coffee. That gap of US$17 works out to about 6 per cent.
For growers, the farm level figure is what counts. Using the standard conversion of 6.5 kilogrammes of cherry to one kilogramme of clean coffee, Sale 6 prices translate to about Ksh120 per kilogramme of cherry. Deductions still come out of that amount before payment reaches the farmer.
By Benedict Aoya
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