Minister Tumwebaze commends Africa Coffee Park for Value Addition

_________________

The Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, has commended the progress registered so far by the Africa Coffee Park in Ntungamo District.

According to Tumwebaze, inputs to boost value addition being deployed at the park aligns with the government's agenda of value addition to create more jobs and boost export of finished products rather than raw materials.

He was speaking yesterday during a tour to the park in Ntungamo as part of his oversight role as the political supervisor of the coffee sector.

The minister was conducted through all the coffee processing facilities at the park, from the wet mill, dry mill, roastery, spray dry and freeze dry plants, to the cosmetics and coffee brew sections.

Tumwebaze expressed gratitude and admiration for the progress achieved, lauding Nelson Tugume, the chief executive officer of Inspire Africa Group, for his vision and resilience in driving the project.

“I want to commend Tugume and his team for the vision and resilience they have exhibited throughout this project. The project can speak for itself because a lot of work has been done,” he said.

The Minister also appreciated President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for supporting Tugume’s vision to end the loss of Ugandan jobs and resources through the export of raw coffee.

Nelson Tugume, on his par,t noted that the factory had already commenced mass production of roasted coffee, ground coffee, coffee capsules, and drip coffee, and that the first consignment for export to Somalia had been flagged off.

“The only thing delaying us is the dedicated electricity line to the factory. The work to directly connect the factory to Mirama Hills line is ongoing, and as soon as we have the power, the production of instant coffee will start,” Tugume said.

The Africa Coffee Park in Ntungamo, a 150-acre state-of-the-art industrial hub, is set to become the largest coffee processing and value-addition centre in Eastern Africa. The Park employs freeze-dry technology to produce refined instant coffee, coffee beauty products, and coffee energy drinks.

The initiative aligns directly with Uganda’s 4th National Development Plan (NDPIV 2025/2026–2029/2030), which identifies coffee as one of six key agricultural value chains for value addition.

The park’s vision is to make Uganda's coffee a competitive product on the global market by adding value, increasing prices for our farmers, and creating opportunities for export. By December 2025, the company plans to expand into China, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.