Tanzania’s benchmark coffee grade fell 8.6 percent at an auction Mar. 15 after the quality of the beans declined and global prices slumped, the Tanzania Coffee Board said. The average price for Arabica AA declined to an average of $213.07 per 50 kilograms (110 pounds) from $233.07 a week earlier, the board said yesterday by e-mail from Moshi, in northern Tanzania. The grade sold for as much as $242.40 per 50 kilograms compared to $255.60 the previous week, it said. The board offered 2,827 bags and 1,411 were bought, it added. The quality of the beans at the auction have declined as the nation draws closer to the end of the 2011-12 season, according to the board. The board offered 10,813 bags of which 6,703 bags were bought, it said in the statement. Tanzania prices its coffee per 50 kilograms while offers and sales are in 60-kilogram bags. Tanzania reaps its crop from April through August. Arabica accounts for 75 percent of the country’s output, while robusta accounts for the rest. Production for this marketing season, which started July 1 and closes June 30, may fall to 37,000 metric tons from the July 14 forecast of 45,000 tons because of bad weather, Adolph Kumburu, the board’s director general, said on Jan. 30. The nation produced 56,247 tons last season, he said. The following are details of the Mar. 15 auction in U.S. dollars for a 50-kilogram bag for the good grades: Grade            Offer   Sold      High      Low       Average Arabica AA       2,827   1,411     242.40    152       213.07 Arabica A          527     486     200       151       164.21 Arabica AB       5,723   2,944     234       150       212.77 Arabica B          191     125     192       150       174.86 Arabica PB       1,030     868     243       150       182.08 Arabica C          743     572     170       150       162.32 Unwashed Arabica Arabica FAQ        452     452     152       152       152.00 Source: bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-18/tanzania-top-coffee-falls-on-inferior-quality-low-global-prices.html