The Uganda monthly goods trade deficit narrowed at the sharpest rate since 2019 in May as both exports and imports fell, which was most certainly due to election-related uncertainty.
The Uganda goods trade deficit fell 35.7 per cent month on month to $187m, according to central bank data, as imports declined by 19.9 per cent and exports dropped 9.9 per cent.
The decline in merchandise imports — which came in at $597.5m — was the strongest in nine months and was driven by a contraction in private sector imports.
Formal private sector imports were down 26.4 per cent to $529.7m, largely because of a 25.7 per cent fall in non-oil imports to $468.5m. The drop in non-oil imports was driven by declines in mineral products, excluding petroleum products; machinery equipments, vehicles, and accessories; and petroleum products.
Goods exports fell to $410.4m, a three-month low, driven by a 19.2 per cent decline in gold exports to $170.8m. Exports of beans also fell by $6.6m from the previous month to $5.2m.
Coffee exports, on the other hand, rose 5 per cent to $39.7m. Informal cross-border trade exports increased by 7.4 per cent to $42.8m, driven by a $3.9m rise in maize exports to $4.9m.
