KAMPALA: Uganda’s coffee exports in December plunged 22% compared with the same month a year earlier due to the impact of a drought in some coffee growing areas, according to the state-run sector regulator.
The east African country exported 418,829 60-kg bags of coffee in December, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a report seen by Reuters on Sunday. Uganda is Africa’s largest exporter of coffee followed by Ethiopia and shipments of the beans are a key source of foreign exchange for the country.
“The decrease in exports was mainly attributed to lower yields this year (2022) that were characterized by drought in most regions,” UCDA said in the report. Uganda mostly cultivates robusta variety and the decline in yields is a setback for the government of president Yoweri Museveni.
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It has been aggressively promoting a planting programme to expand acreage covered by the crop and increase annual yields to about 20 million bags per year in a few years. Currently Uganda produces about six million bags per year.
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