Uganda earlier this week launched the registration of coffee value chain players in a bid to beat the December 2024 deadline set by the European Union (EU).
Frank Tumwebaze, the agriculture minister, told media earlier this week the exercise was meant to comply with the December 2022 European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) which aims at ensuring that supply chains remain free from products contributing to deforestation and forest degradation.
The regulation targets seven commodities and their derived products, namely cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, wood, and rubber whether imported or produced within the EU, the minister noted.
The new regulation dictates that “These commodities will be prohibited from entering the EU market if they are produced on land cleared of forest for agricultural purposes after 30th December 2020.”
“The EU regulations came into effect on 29th June 2023 and will come into application on 30th December 2024. The regulation is part of the broader efforts intended to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation,” Tumwebaze said.
“…noting that EU represents a primary export market for Ugandan coffee, with over 60% exported to the EU market including Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands, and that the deadline for compliance to EUDR is 30th December 2024, the Ministry, UCDA, private sector players in the coffee value chain and development partners have prioritized registration of coffee value chain actors so as to enable traceability of our coffee and prove that our source farms have not contributed to deforestation,” he added.
What EUDR states
According to available data, the EUDR requires that all products exported or imported to the EU market are;
A. deforestation-free; the production of coffee was done on land that was not subject to deforestation or forest degradation after 30th December 2020.
B. produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of Uganda; accompanied by a due diligence statement;
C. containing geolocation data adhering to traceability standards that enable buyers to trace each batch of coffee back to its designated land plot.
Uganda ready
The minister said Uganda has already enacted the National Coffee Act, 2021, which provided for establishment of a national register for coffee value chain actors.
“Registration of coffee value chain actors is an essential precursor to the creation of a National Traceability System. Such measures are vital for supporting our coffee farmers, enhancing sustainability, improving market access, and ensuring compliance with both local legislation and international regulations,” Tumwebaze said.
“I would like to emphasize that this registration process is being conducted free of charge by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and partners and it is not to serve any other purpose apart from enabling the development of the value chain and access to global markets. When farmers are profiled/registered, extension outreaches and information dissemination become easy,” he added.
Already the ministry has put in place a technical team from various sectors of government to undertake the registration process.
“In addition to the efforts towards retaining the existing markets, the Government of Uganda will continue efforts to promote agricultural products such as coffee to emerging markets including China, Middle East, Maghreb among others,” the minister said.
Statistics
Uganda is the 7th largest coffee producer in the world and the second largest producer in Africa and coffee is one of Uganda’s main foreign exchange earners, contributing 11-22% of commodity exports over the last 11 years i.e. averaging 14% over the period.
Coffee exports for twelve months (Financial year 2023/24) totaled 6.13 million bags worth US$ 1.14 billion compared to 5.76 million bags worth US$ 846.02 million in the previous year (Financial year 2022/23).
This represents an increase of 6.33% and 35.29% in quantity and value respectively. Italy maintained the highest market share with 41.96% compared to 44.66% last month. It was followed by Germany 10.55%, India 7.41%, Sudan 6.87% and Spain 5.40%.