NCE (Nairobi Coffee Exchange Auction) begun its new trading session on Tuesday, 6th October 2026. The first sale of the 2026/27 crop year cleared 17,084 bags (1,056,615 kg) worth $6,196,682, which is about KSh 801 million.
The average price at the NSE was US$293 per 50kg bag, roughly KSh 758 per kilo of clean coffee, or KSh 117 per kilo of cherry.
Fourteen marketing agents offered 1,045 lots.
The grade mix at the NCE leaned firmly toward the top. AB made up 41% of volume and averaged $325. AA contributed 16% at $338, the highest average of any grade. C accounted for 14% at $296, and PB for 5% at $322, so these four grades together accounted for 76% of the coffee offered.
Mbuni heavy (MH) was a sizeable 11% at $214. The lighter grades followed: T at 4% ($199), TT at 3% ($279), UG1 at 2% ($222), and Mbuni light (ML) at 2% ($98). A tail of minor grades made up the rest.
Meru led at the top of the NCE board. Muguna FCS’s Nchoroiboro AA fetched $382, bought by Sondhi Trading.
Kipsinende FCS AA from Kipkelion followed at $367 (Kenyacof), then Mikumbune FCS’s Kandigi AA at $365.
Four lots tied at $363: Konyu AA, Mukengeria AA, Mikumbune’s Rugeju AA and Tigania North’s Mbaranga AA. Sondhi bought six of the seven lots above $362, so one buyer effectively set the ceiling.
Very little of the trade was settled as Confirmed on the clock when the gavel came down on the NCE trading table.
Only 45 lots carried that status, which is 4% of lots and 3% of both volume and value. The remaining 96% went through ordinary auction bidding with prices offered not meeting the reserve prices set by growers.
On certification, the headline looks good. The 145 certified lots (RA, CAFÉ Practices, Fairtrade, Organic and EUDR-tagged) made up 17% of volume sold and averaged $312, against $290 for uncertified lots.
That is a premium of 8%. Comparing within the same grade tells a more modest story: certified coffee earned $8 more for AA, $14 more for AB, $9 more for PB, and $6 less for C.
Most of the gap comes from certified volumes leaning toward the top grades, not from buyers paying much extra for the label.
Leave a comment