By Fred Ojambo
Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — Kenyan coffee supplies at the country’s first auction of the year on Jan. 11 will be 9.2 percent higher because of an anticipated increase in demand from exporters, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said.
Supplies will climb to 27,000 50-kilogram (110-pound) bags, from 24,722 bags at the previous sale on Dec. 7, Daniel Mbithi, the exchange’s chief executive officer, said in an e-mail today from the capital, Nairobi.
The exchange handles 85 percent of the East African nation’s annual coffee exports, while the rest is shipped through direct sales, according to the Coffee Board of Kenya. Kenya consumes about 3 percent of its annual crop, the state-run board says.
Coffee production in the 12 months through September may range from 49,000 to 55,000 tons, compared with 48,000 tons in 2009-10, because of improved weather, James Wahome, the board’s quality manager, said on Nov. 19.
–Editors: Paul Richardson, Vernon Wessels.
