Sharp decline in Uganda’s coffee exports

Coffees is Uganda’s leading export commodity, but, unfortunately for the African nation, the amount grown, harvest and sold to foreign markets has been in decline over the course of the past twelve months.

Experts who oversee the industry have, recently, come out and stated the obvious: this isn’t a good situation.

The latest report that has been released by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) indicates that for the year between December 2013 and December 2014, the country exported some 3.5 million bags with a value of $430 million.

This represents a drop of nearly 5% in volume and just over 6% of revenue when compared to previous periods.

To compound matters, exports for December last year had dropped by an alarming 13% compared to the same month in 2013.

Reacting to this, Joseph Nkandu explained that this decrease was down to a prolonged dry spell which many farmers within Uganda had to contend with.

Nkandu, an executive director of the National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (Nucafe), offered up a second reason. “Also,” he added, “[there is] the existence of the Black Twig Borer [which] continues to be a major threat to Robusta growing regions.”

In an effort to minimise the risk posed by the borer, the UCDA are expected to be distributing chemical in a bid to help national farmers tackle the pest.

It is believed that spraying programmes started last month.

“At least 20 motorised spray pumps were procured for a more effective spray impact and [to] also speed up the exercise,” a report – published in Uganda – stated.