Neumann Kaffe Gruppe, a global coffee dealer in Germany, was last week the top buyer at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) auction. Through its local subsidiary Ibero Kenya Ltd, the German firm was the market leader, purchasing 5,187 bags at the weekly coffee auction, representing an impressive 41% of the total volume traded.

Ibero Kenya is one of the oldest and top green coffee exporters in Kenya, sourcing, processing and delivering a wide range of coffee qualities from the naturals to the famous Kenya AA.  Dormans SEZ Ltd was the second-largest buyer with 2,244 bags, accounting for 17.6% of the total purchases. Taylor Winch (Coffee) Limited followed with 1,908 bags, capturing 15.0% of the market.

Kenyacof Limited bought 1,456 bags representing 11.4% of total volume, while Louis Dreyfus Company rounded out the top five with 663 bags, comprising 5.2% of purchases. Together, these five major players controlled 89.8% of the entire auction volume.

On the other end, Rockbern Coffee Group Ltd was the smallest participant, purchasing only 3 bags, representing just 0.02% of total volume.

The average price at the auction stood at US$ 413 per 50-kg bag (KSh 164 per kg of cherry), with one premium AA lot of 10 bags from Gakuyu-ini factory part of Thirikwa Farmers’ Cooperative Society fetching up to US$ 514 per bag. A total of 186 bags, or 1.5% of all volumes traded, fetched $500 and above per bag.

Alliance Berries brokers, a leading Kenyan coffee marketing agency that connects local growers to global buyers, led in both price and volume, averaging US$ 424 per bag across 4,929 bags. Other notable brokers included Kipkelion with 817 bags at an average of US$ 416, New KPCU with 1,978 bags at US$ 414, and KCCEMA with 1,526 bags at US$ 411.

Other participants were United Eastern (591 bags, US$ 411), Meru Union (793 bags, US$ 394), Minnesota Marketers (782 bags, US$ 391), Kinya Coffee (250 bags, US$ 390), and Murang’a Union (369 bags, US$ 384).

Alliance berries Limited dominated the Kenyan coffee market in the 2023/24 season, controlling 27.57% of the commodity auctioned at the NCE. They were followed by New KPCU and Kirinyaga Slopes.