Uganda’s merchandise imports grow by 45%
The finance ministry's performance of the economy report for February said this growth was majorly attributed to an increase in formal private sector non-oil imports and project-related Government imports.
The report also said Asia maintained its position as the largest source of Uganda’s imports in January 2025, accounting for 40.6% of total imports.
By Umar Kashaka
Journalists @New Vision
KAMPALA - Uganda’s value of merchandise imports year-on-year grew by 45% from $758.98 million in January 2024 to $1,100.46 million in January 2025, the latest official figures show.
The finance ministry's performance of the economy report for February said this growth was majorly attributed to an increase in formal private sector non-oil imports and project-related Government imports.
These include mineral products, machinery equipment, vehicles and accessories, vegetable products, animal beverages, fats and oils, and animal and animal products, among others.
Similarly, on a month-to-month basis, imports increased by 4.3% from $1,055.71 million in December 2024 to $1,100.46 million in January 2025.
This growth was mainly attributed to higher volumes of project-related Government imports as well as formal private-sector oil-related imports.
These include vegetable products, animal, beverages, fats and oils, petroleum products, chemical and related products, plastics, rubber and related products, and electricity, among others.
Origin of imports
The report also said Asia maintained its position as the largest source of Uganda’s imports in January 2025, accounting for 40.6% of total imports.
Within Asia, the major sources were China, India, Malaysia and Japan, accounting for 44.6%, 29.7%, 7.1% and 6.3%, respectively.
Other notable sources of Uganda’s imports included the East African Community (EAC), the Rest of Africa and the Middle East, which accounted for 21.1%, 19.6% and 9.6% consecutively.
Within the EAC, Tanzania and Kenya were the primary sources of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 61.7% and 34.6% of the imports from the region, respectively.
Comparison with January 2024 shows that, despite Asia being the largest source of Uganda’s imports, the import bill from the Rest of Africa and the EAC increased as a share of the country’s total imports from 11.8% to 19.6% and 18.0% to 21.1%, respectively, pointing to increased imports from African countries.
Consequently, the share of imports to Uganda from Asia, the Middle East and the European Union decreased from 48.4% to 40.6%, 10.3% to 9.6% and 7.1% to 6.7% successively.