Coffee farmers optimistic despite unstable market prices

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Coffee farmers in Ibanda are optimistic about better days ahead despite unstable prices in the district.

Traders say prices for Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties have been mixed over the past three weeks due to dwindling volumes and uncertainty in the market.

Currently, Arabica coffee averages sh17,250 per kilogramme, while Robusta coffee goes for between sh12,500 and sh13,000, depending on the location.

Arabica costs sh18,000 per kilogramme at Nyamirima-Mutegaya Cooperative Society, up from sh17,000 previously. It goes for sh17,000 in Igorora town, Ibanda South county, and sh16,500 in Ibanda town and Kashangura in Kagongo division.

This represents a decrease from sh18,000 per kilogramme at the beginning of the month, but remains higher than the sh15,500 to sh16,000 the variety cost towards the end of June.

Robusta coffee is selling at sh12,500 per kilogramme at most coffee processing plants in Ibanda, down from sh13,000 over the weekend. However, this is higher than the price of the variety in late June. It goes for sh13,000 at Nyamirima-Mutegaya Cooperative Society.

It is currently the off-season for Robusta coffee in Ibanda, with the harvest season slated to start from late September to January.

The harvest season for Arabica coffee has just started, but the beans coming to the market are still of low quality, affecting prices, according to Deogratias Tihwayo of Nyakatookye Coffee Cooperative Society in Kagongo division, Ibanda municipality.

He, however, tips that quality and outturn to improve in the coming weeks as the harvest season progresses and, hence, boost prices.

Godwin Musinguzi, a coffee trader in Igorora town, explained that low volumes do not attract buyers, which is a bearish factor for prices.

Tihwayo said most of the coffee on the market was coming from neighbouring districts of Kitagwenda, Buhweju and Kamwenge, given the district’s strategic position in the sub-region.

Optimism remains

But Apollo Bigirwa, a coffee farmer in Kashangura, is not worried, saying prices would inch up as volumes increase in the coming weeks.

Mable Ninsiima, a member of Nyamirima-Mutegaya Cooperative Society, said farmers were working hard to ensure quality along the value chain as one of the ways to boost prices.

She was optimistic that prices would increase as more coffee comes to the market.

Global market

Coffee prices closed higher on August 17, 2026, with Arabica soaring to a six-week high amid the slow pace of Brazil’s coffee harvest, according to Barchart, a global provider of real-time stock and commodities data.

It showed that September Arabica coffee closed up +7.00 (+2.07%) on Monday, while September ICE Robusta coffee closed up +49 (+1.35%).

Falling inventories are bullish for Arabica coffee prices, as ICE Arabica coffee inventories fell to a 2.75-year low of 231,340 bags on Monday.

By contrast, rising inventories are bearish for Robusta coffee, as ICE Robusta inventories climbed to a five-month high of 4,537 lots last Friday.

Coffee prices also have support from last Monday’s devastating earthquake in Colombia, the world’s second-largest producer of Arabica beans.