By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, 11 December 2025 - Kenya’s coffee market continued to deliver solid returns at the weekly auction, with farmers and cooperatives netting about KSh 1.4 billion after the sale of 22,572 bags of coffee, the highest volume since the 2025/26 coffee year began.
Nineteen local and international buyers participated in the trading, reflecting strong demand for quality Kenyan beans.
Alliance Berries Limited led the volumes, offering 7,155 bags that fetched KSh 481.6 million, followed by Kirinyaga Slopes (2,374 bags for KSh155.6 million) and New KPCU (2,413 bags for KSh 142.2 million).
Premium grades AA and AB dominated the market, selling for average prices of KSh 55,333 and KSh 52,382 per bag, respectively.
Lisper Ndung’u, CEO of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), said the strong showing was due to high demand for quality coffee, signalling opportunities for Kenyan growers to boost production.
“The auction offered the highest volumes since the coffee year … commenced on 1 October 2025,” she reported, urging farmers to scale up quality output to match international market requirements.
A Legacy Crop With Deep Roots and Ongoing Challenges
Coffee has a long and storied history in Kenya.
Originally introduced in the late 19th Century, the crop grew from colonial plantations into a critical cash crop, especially after the formation of cooperatives and the auction system that centralises trade at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.
At its peak in the 1980s, coffee was among Kenya’s top agricultural exports, contributing significantly to foreign exchange earnings and rural livelihoods.
More from Kenya
Today, it remains a major player, ranked historically as the third-largest agricultural export, supporting about 13% of Kenyan households and prized for its premium Arabica quality.
But the sector has faced long-term challenges, including production declines, aging trees, price fluctuations, and cooperative governance issues, which have eroded output from its historic highs.
Analysts say that addressing structural barriers, improving market access, and boosting value addition are essential if coffee is to reclaim its prominence in Kenya’s export economy.
Why Weekly Auctions Still Matter
Weekly auctions at the NCE are a cornerstone of Kenya’s coffee marketing system, determining prices through transparent bidding by brokers and buyers from domestic and international markets.
The system links farmers, cooperatives, and exporters to global demand and price signals and is recognised as a key strength of the sector.
Coffee from Kenya is known for its bright acidity and complex flavour, attributes that attract specialty markets worldwide.
As a result, quality grading such as AA and AB significantly influences the prices coffee fetches at auction.
Weekly results like the recent KSh 1.4 billion return provide both confidence to growers and a signal to policymakers that investments in production services, nursery expansion, and cooperative support can yield tangible economic benefits.
