Coffee earnings in the month of January jumped to 90 percent to record Ksh.10.2 billion compared to Ksh.5.3 billion that was recorded same period last year.
This is attributable to a shortage of the product in the global market.
According to Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), this was caused by frost in Brazil that affected production.
“The higher volumes offered coupled with the good prices witnessed saw the value of the coffees traded almost doubled,” said NCE chief executive officer Daniel Mbithi.
A 60 kilogramme bag of coffee surged to 217,034 in January from 132,149 in January 2021.
The average price of the commodity in the review period hit a high of $338 (Sh38,363) for a 50 kilo bag from an average of $291 (Sh33,028) in corresponding period last year.
Kenya earned Ksh.24.2 billion in the period January to November 2021, with the value surpassing the entire 2020 earnings that stood at Ksh.22.2 billion, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said.
However, despite the rise in earnings, the quantity of coffee exported declined as production continued to dwindle for the second consecutive year.
Kenya exported 35,163 metric tons (MT) of coffee in the first 11 months of 2021, a decline from 40,980 MT in a similar period in 2020, according to KNBS. KNBS said that with the country exporting an average of 2,500 MT of coffee a month, the export quantities in 2021 would not surpass the 2020 figures.
Kenya is the fifth largest producer of coffee in Africa, coming after Ethiopia (7.38 million 60 kg bags), Uganda (5.62 million bags), Cote d’Ivoire (1.78 million bags) and Tanzania (913,000 bags).
