Coffee Farmers Smile on the First Auction of 2019

Coffee farmers kicked off the year with the hope of more goodies ahead after the price of the produce spiked on the first sale of 2019.

According to stats by the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, the commodity traded 666 shillings more for a 50-kg bag on the first auction as compared to December last year. The 50-kg went for 18,666 shillings from 18,000 shillings.

The prices of the crop are expected to increase as the year progresses with sellers focused on the produce from the central part of Kenya.

There was an increased volume of coffee traded at the NCE during the 2017/2018 period. The value of the product during the same period, however, declined by 8.7 percent from 15.9 billion shillings to 14.5 billion shillings.

The average price of the 50-kg bag of coffee stood at 20,000 shillings in 2018, a drop by 3,300 shillings from what was recorded in 2017.

Maize Farmers Still Stranded With Their Produce

Maize farmers across the country are still stranded with their products with nowhere to sell with chances of them preparing for the next season dwindling.

The government had announced that it would buy maize from farmers at a price of 2,600 shillings, with a total of 2,000,000 bags of maize set to be bought. Farmers say the government is yet to start buying their maize.

In the larger Rift Valley region, a 90-kg bag of maize is averaging between 1,300 and 1,600 shillings with millers buying directly from farmers purchasing it at 1,800 shillings.

In Bungoma, cheap maize coming in from Uganda through the Busia-Malava border has made the tribulations facing farmers even worse. A 90-kg bag of maize in Bungoma is selling between 1,200 and 1,700 shillings.