Nyeri farmers want Nairobi coffee auction scrapped to get rid of cartels

Farmers in Nyeri have called for the scrapping of the coffee auction at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange in order to rid the industry of cartels.

The farmers said they want to have direct contact with marketers so that they can have wider access to the coffee buyers.

“The auction is usually controlled by a few people but [if it is scrapped] we would have many buyers of coffee coming to buy coffee from cooperatives,” said Mr Joseph Mukuha, the chairman of Gikanda Coffee Society.

Mr Mukuha said scrapping the auction would ensure the marketers do not have a common place to discuss prices and collude to offer low prices for the crop.

“It is an opportunity for farmers to negotiate prices with their preferred marketers,” he said.

However, the technical and advisory manager of Coffee Directorate, Isabella Nkonge, denied claims that there were cartels in the coffee industry.

She said the farmers had not shown any proof of the existence of the alleged cartels and their role in the industry.

Ms Nkonge said the directorate was executing other measures to streamline the coffee sector, including the restructuring of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.

She was speaking during the coffee growers’ excellence awards ceremony in Nyeri which was aimed at motivating farmers to increase coffee production.

(Reporting by Irene Mugo; Editing by Martin Kinyanjui)