Farmers hope for better earnings as coffee year begins

NCE chief executive Lisper Ndung'u. [File, Standard]

Coffee farmers generated Sh24.3 billion from the sale of 691,956 bags at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) during the coffee year 2023/2024, that ends today.

It was a year full of mistrust between the farmers and players in the sector following delays in remittance of money into cooperative societies bank accounts and other challenges.

Between October and December, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua pleaded with coffee farmers to sell their coffee through the NCE, after majority declined as they demanded continued trading with former marketers.

In January, coffee brokers led by Kirinyaga Slopes, Alliance Berries and New KPCU mobilised cooperative societies to deliver coffee through the auction.

In the previous year, coffee production, according to the Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) was 32,652 metric tonnes sold through the auction, and 9,350 metric tonnes through direct sales.

NCE chief executive Lisper Ndung'u said in the year, they managed to auction 691,956 bags of coffee with hope that in next year the number will increase.

Ndung'u said the demand for quality coffee has been high and called on farmers to increase production.

"The regulators have been doing their best to ensure full implementation of the regulation towards improving the earnings to the growers from the auction market," said Ndung'u.

In the year alliance berries sold 189,845 bags of coffee that fetched Sh6,874,417,647.10, New KPCU 145,733 bags for Sh4,898,865,761.82, Kirinyaga Slopes 118,964 bags for Sh4,616,595,064.