By Rogers Wanambwa 

KIU, Main Campus - According to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), Uganda's coffee exports increased by 17.2% in July 2020 as compared to the July 2019, keeping the country in the number one position for largest exporter of coffee in Africa. 

In the report by UCDA, figures show that Uganda exported 543,251 60-kilogram bags of coffee in July as compared to 463,709 bags in July of last year. This figure happens to be the highest in a single month in 29 years, that is, since 1991.

The increase according to the authority is attributed to new fruition of planted coffee trees and relatively favourable weather conditions that have been seen for some years. 

A staggering 5.06 million bags were exported in the financial year that ended on June 30, figures from the Ministry of Finance indicate bringing in US$494 million from US$416 million in FY 2018/19 in which 4.19 million coffee bags were exported.

Furthermore, this increase is in direct response to the president's Uganda Coffee Roadmap directive that was issued in 2014 to see an increase in coffee bags from the then 3.5 million to 20 million bags. 

As it is, most of Uganda's coffee (about 80%) goes to the European Union with the remaining 20% going to the Sudan.  

Coffee growing is mainly done by small scale farmers totaling about 500,000 and it represents about 30% of Uganda's total export revenues. 

Picture credit: Pexels