Kenya’s benchmark coffee grade fell for a second time since the restart of weekly auctions last week after supplies increased, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said.

The benchmark AA sold for an average of $271.42 for a 50- kilogram (110-pound) bag from $275.23 on Aug. 14, the exchange said today by e-mail from Nairobi, the capital.

Supplies of the grade climbed 21 percent to 1,798 bags, and it sold for as little as $156 and as much as $310 a bag, compared with last week’s range of $198 to $340, it said. The average price for all the coffee sold dropped the first time since the restart of auctions, retreating 2.2 percent to $166.14 a bag, it said.

“Generally there was little demand from our overseas buyers,” Mansukh Shah, a coffee dealer at Nairobi-based Alanwood Ltd., said by phone. “The quality of the beans was a bit low.”

Sales at the auction fell to 10,605 bags worth $2.14 million from 10,695 bags valued at $2.21 million last week amid increased supplies, the exchange said.

Supplies at the auction climbed to 24,845 bags from 23,333 bags at the previous sale, the agency said. Kenya harvests its early crop from May through July, while the main crop is reaped from September through December. Its coffee season runs from Oct. 1 through September.

The following are details of today’s auction in U.S. dollars for a 50-kilogram bag:

Grade          Low            High          Average
AA             156            310           271.42
AB             146            221           190.33
C              146            171           160.98
HE             114            156           146.31
MH             119            141           135.69
ML              74            123            95.51
PB             179            183           181.06
T               82            160           136.64
TT             152            178           165.08
UG             153            166           157.77
UG1             94            166           144.32
UG2             91            157           148.67
UG3             78            102            84.85

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net