Kenya: Coffee auction sales climb 12%

The value of coffee sold at Kenya’s auction climbed 12 percent to $93.2 million (R1.1 billion) in the half-year to March compared with the same period in the previous season after prices rose, an official said yesterday. Kenya, whose high-quality beans are sought by roasters to blend with beans from other producers, sold coffee worth $83.5m in the first-half of the 2013/14 season that runs October to September. “We registered improved prices in the first-half, even though the crop output was frustrated by drought conditions,” Daniel Mbithi, the chief executive of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said. Kenya exports about 90 percent of its coffee through the exchange and the remainder is sold directly to buyers. – Reuters