By Henry Kinyua
Welcome to this weeks’ edition of HK Coffee Market Summary: Sale number 14
The coffee season 2023/2024 sales 14 took place on Tuesday 30th January 2024 at the usual place 2nd floor Wakulima house along Haile Selassie avenue where Nairobi Coffee Exchange is located and on online platforms. A total of 20821,bags(50kgs) of coffee were traded, signifying a notable decrease from the 22,739 bags traded in Sale Number 13 last week. The average price also saw a significant dip, reaching $212 from the previous $232 per 50kg bag in Sale Number 13. This average price is equivalent to Ksh 88 per kilo of cherry. The highest price achieved was $459 per 50kg bag from Kaingoi wet mill (Factory) which is part of Rung’eto Farmers’ cooperative society in Kirinya County. This high price is equivalent to Ksh 233 per Kiligram of cherry at Factory gate A total of 240 bags or 1% of coffee traded fetched more than $400 per bag. This coffee fetching more than $400 per bag was procured by Ibero, Kenyacof, C.Dormans and Sasini..The total earnings from Sale Number 14 amounted to $5419,093.20 or approximately Ksh 894Million compared to 1.04Billion, in Sale Number 13. Notably, 12,818 bags, constituting 62% of the volumes traded, were grades AA and AB. Kindly note that increase in percentage of high grades leads to increase in average price and total earnings from the market.
Kirinyaga County, represented by the Kirinyaga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Company Ltd, continued to assert its presence in the market. In Sale Number 14, they traded the second highest volume at the auction 4219 bags at an average price of $244 per bag, equivalent to Ksh 123 per Kg of cherry at the factory gate. Kipkelion Broker Company Ltd from Kericho county was also active to the markets traded 1,777 bags of coffee at an average price of $203 per bag Again, It’s crucial to note that a report on a single sale doesn’t reflect the total sales and returns from any factory cooperative or county.
Coffee is processed and traded at different times, and factories present coffee to the market in multiple sales before determining the final price paid for all their traded coffee. Therefore, one sale or even a couple of sales serve as directional indicators of market performance. To estimate the price per kg of cherry from market reports, take the highest price paid per bag (e.g., $459) and multiply it by the dollar rate (e.g., 165). Then, divide by 50 (50kg per bag) and further divide by 6.5 to get the kilos of cherry. Using this formula: (459 * 165) / 50 / 6.5 = 233, the result is $459 per bag, equivalent to Ksh 233 per kg of cherry
Brokers
Eight brokers/agents participated by presenting their clients’/farmers’ coffee for trading at the auction. Kirinyaga Slopes coffee Brokerage Company presented the second highest volume to Alliance Berries, New KPCU, Kipkelion Broker Company also participated delivering 1,777 bags at an average money Kshs 203
Coffee Buyers:
A total of 22 buyers participated in the auction. The top five buyers, led by Ibero, C.Dormans, Sasini. purchased 80% of the traded coffee. Other notable buyers included Taylor Winch, and Louis Dreyfus Company. Biz One Limited. Star Coffee procured the least volume only 5 bags from the auction
