By George Mwangi

Special to Dow Jones Newswires


Tanzania plans to offer 281 metric tons of green coffee beans at an auction on Thursday, the country's coffee board said Wednesday.

The amount was raised from an earlier offer of 246 tons due to additional catalogs.

At the prior auction on Feb. 15, a total 134 tons of coffee beans were sold to the overseas markets for $209.80 a 50-kilogram bag at the highest and $37.00 at the lowest, the board said in an auction results report.

Tanzanian arabica auctions use the New York ICE Futures price index as a benchmark. Robusta prices follow the London-traded contract on ICE. Direct sales are also allowed.

Almost all Tanzanian coffee is sold for export.

Tanzania is Africa's fourth-largest coffee producer and production is forecast at 1.35 million 60-kilogram bags in the current marketing year through June 2024, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. According to Tanzania's central bank figures, production was 1.38 million bags in the prior marketing year.

Tanzania's coffee production comprises around 70% arabica and 30% robusta.


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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-13-24 0831ET