Asia remains Uganda’s largest imports source—report

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Asia remains the largest source of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 33.3% of the total import bill in March 2025, official figures show.

The finance ministry report on the performance of the economy for April 2025 indicates that within the region, China and India were the dominant trading partners, accounting for 55.3% and 20.5% of Uganda’s imports from Asia, respectively.

Other notable sources of Uganda’s imports were the East African Community (EAC), the Rest of Africa, and the Middle East, which contributed 30.0%, 16.3%, and 13.2% of total imports, respectively.

Within the EAC, Tanzania and Kenya were the primary sources of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 57.9% and 38.2% of the imports from the region, respectively.

Uganda’s merchandise imports grew 7.3% from $1,037.21m in March 2024 to $1,112.72m in March 2025.

This increase was primarily attributed to higher project-related government imports and non-oil private sector imports.

Key private sector import categories that recorded growth included mineral products (excluding petroleum), plastics, rubber and related products, base metals and their products, textiles and textile products, as well as prepared foodstuffs, beverages, and tobacco.

Similarly, the import bill increased by 25.4% on a monthly basis, from $887.07m in February 2025 to $1,112.72m in March 2025.

This increase was mainly driven by the rise in both project-related government imports and non-oil private sector imports, particularly mineral products (excluding petroleum), prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco, plastics, rubber and related products, as well as chemicals and related products.