Uganda’s coffee exports surged to a record high last month as exporters unloaded their stockpiles to take advantage of high global prices, boosted further by a bountiful harvest in the country’s south-western region.
The country recorded a 48.2 per cent rise in coffee exports by quantity, with volumes hitting 743,517 60-kg bags, according to data released on Monday by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, the most ever reported.
Sales hit $121.6mn (Shs455.4bn), also an all-time high, reflecting an increase of 70.7 per cent in value compared to the same month last year. This signifies an average price of $2.7 per kilo, compared to $2.4 in August 2022.
The coffee authority said the performance was because of a rise in outbound shipments of robusta coffee, and “partly on account of a good crop harvest in [the] south-western region and the prevailing good prices on the global scene, which prompted exporters to release their stocks.”
Exports of robusta – the lower quality bean used mainly in instant coffee – amounted to 689,261 60-kg bags, accounting for 92.7 per cent of total exports and with a value of $111.4mn. This represents a yearly increase of 50.9 per cent in volume and 84.8 per cent in value.
Arabica exports rose 20.3 per cent in quantity to 54,256 bags, but their sales declined by 6.6 per cent to $10.2mn. The average price of a kilo of arabica was $3.1, down from $3.7 in the same month last year. Robusta coffee, on the other hand, averaged $2.7 per kilo, compared with $2.2 a year earlier.
UCDA estimated coffee exports for this month to reach 600,000 bags. “The main harvesting season in Greater Masaka and south-western regions is at the tail end and exporters will draw down on their stocks to fulfil contractual obligations with buyers,” it said. Exporters are also preparing for the start of the main harvest in the Mt Elgon region and other areas to the north of the equator, the coffee authority added.
