Uganda’s import bill grew by 36% in a year — report

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Uganda’s import bill grew by 36.2% from $1,096.90 million in March 2025 to $1,493.87 million in March 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance Performance of the Economy Report for April 2026.

The report attributes the growth to higher government project imports and increased import volumes from the formal private sector, particularly mineral products excluding petroleum products, machinery, equipment, vehicles and accessories, as well as vegetable products, animals, beverages, fats and oils, among others.

Similarly, on a monthly basis, the value of merchandise imports increased by 4.1%, rising from $1,435.18 million in February 2026 to $1,493.87 million in March 2026.

The report says this was mainly due to higher volumes from government project imports and formal private sector imports, especially vegetable products, animals, beverages, fats and oils, prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco, chemical and related products, wood and wood products, among others.

Origin of imports

The report further indicates that during March 2026, Asia, the East African Community and the Rest of Africa were the largest sources of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 31.0%, 24.1% and 22.7% respectively.

Within Asia, China, India and Japan were the leading sources of imports, accounting for 56.4%, 17.1% and 10.0% of the region’s imports, respectively.

Other notable sources of Uganda’s imports included the Middle East and the European Union, which accounted for 11.1% and 7.4% of total imports, respectively.