The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has issued full licenses to two coffee marketers to carry out coffee brokerage services at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.
The authority has further extended provisional licenses to two other coffee brokers by a further six months to allow them to fully comply with the new coffee regulations.
The development comes at a time when CMA is locked in a tussle with the management of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange over the admission of new brokers.
The two coffee brokers Kipkelion Brokerage Company and Murang’a County Coffee Dealers have been given full permits to carry out coffee brokerage services at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.
CMA on Coffee Stakeholders
CMA has further extended two provisional licenses granted to Mt. Elgon Coffee Marketing Agency Limited and United Eastern Kenya Coffee Marketing Company Limited by six months to 30 April 2022 to give them more time to come into full compliance.
CMA Chief Executive Wyckliffe Shamiah noted, ‘the Authority is engaging stakeholders in the coffee sub-sector to ensure that various players in the value chain are brought into full compliance with the Coffee Exchange Regulations 2020”.
The new Coffee Regulations was meant to take effect on July 1 but was postponed to the end of the year to allow more time for preparations.
There has however been confusion over the implementation of the new laws as the Ministry of Agriculture and CMA battle over who has control of the crop.
The new regulations require brokers to send farmers money to Direct Settlement System, a departure from the current one where the funds are sent to marketers before paying it out to growers.
The Capital Markets (Coffee Exchange) Regulations 2020, which were gazetted in April, gave the authority the mandate to license the coffee exchange and brokers.
The Authority is mandated to regulate the structured spot commodity markets in Kenya.
However, their access to the trading floor remains in limbo, due to an ongoing stand-off with the Coffee exchange management and the capital markets authority over licensing rights.
