The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) of the African coffee-producing country Uganda released the March coffee export report. The volume of Ugandan coffee exports was 329,686 bags of 60 kilograms, 246.8 billion shillings (64.74 million US dollars), but this data was lower than the 434,582 bags of 60 kilograms exported in February, 314.7 billion shillings (82.56 million US dollars). And it has decreased by 32.4% in quantity and 9.45% in income compared with the same period last year. The reduction in the export volume in March was due to the impact of El Nino, which led to heavy rain in the African region. And from October to the following March is Uganda’s main production season, and the heavy rain during this period knocks down the coffee fruits, which also leads to a reduction in Uganda’s harvest. And with the soaring coffee prices, the number of coffee theft cases in Uganda has increased. According to the monthly report, among the coffee exported in March, it included 244,975 bags of Robusta, worth 460.1 million US dollars, and another 84,711 bags of Arabica, worth 187.2 million US dollars. Compared with the same period last year, the number of Robusta coffee beans has decreased by 33% while the income has only decreased by 0.24%. In addition, the export quantity of Arabica coffee beans has also decreased by 30%, and the income has decreased by 26%.
Although the volume of coffee exports this month has decreased, calculated according to the coffee year (April 2023 – March 2024), the volume of Uganda’s coffee exports reached 5.9 million bags, which is 2.42% higher than the 5.76 million bags of the previous coffee year, and the income of 993.63 million US dollars has also increased by 16.91% compared with the previous year. In addition, a new round of harvesting period has begun in the southwest of the country, and the current situation is good. The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) predicts that the volume of coffee exports in April can reach 400,000 bags.
It is worth noting that in March, the average export price of Robusta was $3.27/kg, which was 83 cents higher than $2.44/kg in March 2023. However, the washed Robusta price is the highest, with a selling price of $4.23.
Due to the impact of the bad weather in Vietnam, the main producer of Robusta, the supply of Robusta coffee is tight, and in the early days, due to the increase in coffee prices, coffee farmers are reluctant to sell the coffee beans in their hands, and it has triggered a period of default trend, resulting in the high price of Robusta coffee. This allows Uganda to benefit, even though the volume of coffee exports in March has decreased, but the income has not decreased much.
According to the results of market research, Robusta coffee dominates the Italian coffee market, so Italy still maintains the highest market share for Uganda coffee imports, which is 38.08%, followed by India with 12.29% and Germany with 10.5%.
However, there is good news that the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) has applied to the government for 32.5 billion shillings to establish a coffee traceability system in order to ensure that Uganda’s coffee complies with the EU’s regulation on no deforestation (EUDR), and additionally allocates funds to purchase and deploy some agricultural infrastructure to enhance the level of mechanization in Uganda’s agricultural sector, which can enhance Uganda’s agricultural output and increase more foreign exchange income at the current high coffee price.
Moreover, the president of the country said earlier that it will strengthen the coffee planting in Uganda and increase production, hoping that the output in 2025 can reach 20 million bags. In addition, due to the increasing demand for coffee in China and the annual growth of coffee consumption by 15% – 20%, Uganda hopes to enhance its coffee exports to China.
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