Uganda saw coffee exports rise to US$ 58.56 million (about Shs207 billion) in June 2021, the highest collected in a single month since 1991, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a statement.
The Authority said the revenue came from selling 618,388 bags weighing 60kgs each.
While there was a tick-up in Robusta coffee sales, Arabica registered a decline.
“Increasing Robusta exports during the month compared to the previous year were due to newly planted coffee which started yielding supported by favorable weather. This was also compounded by a positive trend in global coffee prices in the last two weeks of the month which prompted exporters to release their stocks on top of increased procurement,” reads the statement.
“Arabica monthly exports continued to reduce compared to the previous year attributed to the off-year biennial cycle characteristic of Arabica production.”
In June, 565,449 bags of Robusta valued at $50.25m and 52,939 bags of Arabica valued at $8.31m were sold.
This was an increase of 47.04% and 46.63 % in quantity and value respectively compared to the same month last year.
For the same month last year, Robusta increased by 63.89% and 72.56% in quantity and value respectively, while Arabica exports decreased in both quantity and value by 29.93% and 23.16% respectively.
Italy remains the largest consumer of Ugandan coffee, taking a market share of 34.57% compared with 37.02% last month. It was followed by Germany 13.11% (14.36%), India 9.52% (5.00%) Sudan 7.81% (4.04%) and Algeria 6.28% (5.80%).
[The figures in brackets represent the percentage market share held in May 2021.]
According to UCDA, coffee exports to Africa amounted to 112,416 bags, a market share of 18% compared to 69,349 bags (14%) the previous month.
Leading African countries included Sudan, Morocco, Kenya, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Europe remained the main destination for Uganda’s coffees with a 61% imports share.
Coffee exports for the 12 months (Financial year 2020/21) amounted to 6,078,638 bags worth $559.26m compared to 5,105,881 bags valued at $496.28m the previous year (Financial Year 2019/20).
“This represents 19.05% and 12.69% increase in both quantity and value respectively. The total quantity of exports in 12 months was the highest in 30 years,” said UCDA.
