Kenyan AA coffee price eases 2.4 p.c. at auction

The top price for Kenya's benchmark grade AA coffee dipped to $442 per 50-kg bag from $453 at the last auction, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) said on Wednesday.

AA coffee sold at between $442 and $207 per bag, while the top price for grade AB rose to $390 from $383 at the previous sale, NCE said in its market report.

The NCE said the average price for all grades dropped to $276.84 per bag from $294.08 last week.

It said 26,787 bags were offered at this week's auction and 23,376 were sold. Out of the 22,540 bags offered at last week's auction, 18,525 found buyers.

Although a relatively small producer compared with other growers, Kenya is renowned for its high quality coffee which is sought after by roasters for blending with beans from other regions.

The state-run Coffee Board of Kenya projects production for the 2009/10 crop will fall by 13 percent to 47,000 tonnes.