Exporters are saying the Nairobi auction is offering quicker sales and better prices as the goal of direct sales proves difficult. Photo/REUTERS via Business Daily By George Omondi Business Daily October 4, 2010 International commodity brokers have limited the direct sale of coffee introduced three years ago. Many exporters have preferred to operate from the weekly auction, saying they had been met by an intricate web of intermediaries in the quest to penetrate the international markets. The Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) offers quicker sales, they said. “Direct sales remains a great idea but players who have tried it realised that the auction’s transparent price discovery system often yields better value for their produce,” said the Sasini Ltd manager, Dr Ceaser Mwangi. Under the central auction system, which operates on a willing-buyer-willing-seller terms, Dr Mwangi said the buyer who places bids has a ready market for the quantity demanded. Local industry players, ...