The price of the benchmark grade AA coffee rose to a high of $318.80 per 50-kg bag from $289 per bag at the last sale on December 16 as demand was high and supply declined. "We have recorded the highest price for the entire season this week. Demand for coffee is high at the resumption of the weekly auction," Primus Kimaryo, TCB director of quality and promotion at the state coffee board, told Reuters. "The supply of coffee has declined because some parts of the country are at the end of their harvest season. Prices at the terminal are high, so we expect to have good prices overall at our auctions." Traders also said they expect coffee prices to remain high in the run-up to the end of the season in March-April. Average prices of all grades slipped in the auction, however. "Overall average price at Moshi exchange for mild arabica was down by $1.47 per 50 kgs and robusta was down by $2.30 per 50 kgs compared to the last auction," TCB said in its latest auction report. East African coffee is normally packed in 60-kg bags, but prices are quoted for quantities of 50 kg. "Prices of other coffee beans declined because of low quality, but coffee coming in from northern Tanzania is of the highest quality and fetched the highest prices," said Kimaryo. Benchmark-grade AA sold at $210.00-$318.80 per bag, compared with $205.00-$289.00 per bag previously. The average price was $262.82 per bag, up from $250.13 previously. Grade A fetched $199.00-$282.80 per bag, compared with $207.00-$282.00 per bag at the previous sale, and got an average price of $261.35, up from $250.55 previously. State-run TCB said 12,821 60-kg bags were offered at the latest sale and 10,067 bags were sold. At the previous sale, a total of 26,732 60-kg bags were up for sale, with 24,223 bags sold. Tanzania produces mainly arabica and some robusta coffee. Prices of its arabica normally track the New York market, while those of robusta take their cue from London. TCB forecasts the 2010/11 (June/April) crop will rise to 55,000 tonnes in the continent's fourth-largest coffee grower after Ethiopia, Uganda and Ivory Coast, from 36,000 tonnes in the last season. The auction was held on Thursday and TCB issued the results on Friday.
