Coffee farmers earned Sh. 41.63 billion from sales at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) during the 2025/2026 coffee year, marking a significant improvement in returns compared with the previous season.

The earnings were generated from the sale of about 47 million kilogrammes of coffee between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, with 770,034 bags traded through the auction.

The latest performance represents an increase of about Sh. 6 billion from the Sh. 35.6 billion earned in the 2024/2025 coffee year, when 673,844 bags were sold, pointing to improved returns for growers despite fluctuations in volumes and prices during the season.

The NCE report has attributed the stronger performance to improved coffee prices and market demand, with its records showing that the 2025/2026 season was characterized by relatively firm prices during much of the trading period.

By May, the exchange had already recorded Sh. 32.25 billion from 36.93 million kilogrammes of coffee, with the average price standing at Sh43,780 per 50-kilogramme bag.

The final auction, Sale 42, held on September 29, however, reflected some softening in prices as the season came to an end, with 17,765 bags earning farmers Sh841.3 million. The average price was Sh38,140 per 50-kilogramme bag, translating to about Sh762 per kilogramme of clean coffee.

Despite the late-season decline, the overall performance points to a stronger financial outcome for coffee growers, with the value of sales rising faster than the number of bags traded compared with the previous year.

In the report, NCE Chief Executive Officer Lisper Ndung’u noted that 18 brokers participated in marketing the coffee during the year, with Alliance Berries Limited emerging as the leading broker after marketing 222,329 bags, representing about 29 percent of the coffee traded.

New Kenya Planters’ Cooperative Union (New KPCU) followed with 137,284 bags, accounting for about 18 percent of the market.

Ndung’u said the two firms jointly handled about 61 percent of the coffee traded at the exchange, underlining their significant role in connecting growers with local and international buyers.

Other brokers that posted notable volumes included Kipkelion, which marketed 58,356 bags, CEBBA with 40,789 bags and Minnesota with 30,405 bags.

Several county growers’ cooperative unions also recorded notable performances during the year. Meru marketed 21,786 bags valued at Sh23.8 million, while Mt Elgon sold 15,334 bags worth Sh17.9 million.

Murang’a growers marketed 12,476 bags valued at Sh. 13.3 million, placing the county among the better-performing cooperative unions during the period.

The improved earnings come against a backdrop of renewed efforts by the coffee industry to enhance production, quality and access to better-paying markets.

Kenya is known for producing high-quality Arabica coffee, with the NCE auction serving as an important avenue through which coffee from cooperative societies and estates is marketed to buyers. The exchange maintains that quality, origin and grading remain important determinants of prices achieved by farmers.

National coffee statistics have also pointed to stronger prices in recent years. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed that Kenya’s average coffee auction price in 2025 rose to USD7.21 per kilogramme from USD4.90 in 2024, although the total volume sold during the calendar year declined.

Coffee Board of Kenya Chairman Henry Kinyua observes that the industry was optimistic about improved prices in the 2026/2027 coffee year, while urging farmers to maintain good agricultural practices to protect the quality of Kenyan coffee.

Kinyua said adherence to recommended farming practices would be critical in ensuring that farmers continue producing high-quality beans capable of attracting premium prices in the international market.

The industry is now entering the 2026/2027 coffee year with stakeholders seeking to build on the improved earnings recorded in the previous season while addressing production, quality and marketing challenges that continue to affect growers.

The NCE has continued publishing auction results and market reports to improve transparency in coffee trading and provide growers and other industry players with information on market performance.

 by Bernard Munyao