Uganda’s foreign exchange earnings from coffee exports have grown by 53 per cent in the past one year, a government agency announced.
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), a government agency charged with regulating coffee, said late Thursday, earnings from exports had grown from 953.14 million U.S. dollars to 1.46 billion U.S. dollars in the past one year.
“Coffee exports for twelve months (November 2023- October 2024) totaled 6.38 million bags worth US$ 1.46 billion compared to 6.16 million bags worth US$ 953.14 million in the previous year (November 2022- October 2023),” UCDA said. “This represents an increase of 3.60% and 53.38% in quantity and value respectively,” the regulatory body stated.
UCDA also said the rise in value was a result of the increase in global coffee prices as a result of dry conditions in Brazil and Vietnam who are the world’s largest producers of Arabica and Robusta coffee respectively.
The UCDA report names China to be among the top ten consumers of Ugandan coffee. The other top countries include Italy, Germany, India, Algeria, Morocco, Russia, Netherlands, Sudan and the US.
The regulatory body also attributes the growing global demand for Uganda’s coffee to a robust international promotion strategy, with expos being held in various countries.
The latest expo – Xiamen International Coffee Expo – opened Friday in China organized by the Ugandan Missions there aimed at “bringing together coffee producers, enthusiasts, and industry leaders from around the globe to celebrate the rich culture and diverse flavors of coffee.”
The high sales also come at the heels of Uganda opening a trade hub in Serbia, with several consignments of coffee already having been delivered to the Balkans.
Uganda is also in the process of registering coffee farmers as the deadline for implementation of European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) gets closer.
