May coffee exports set to rise by 18%
May 16, 2011
UGANDA expects to export more coffee this month compared with May last year because farmers will release more of their harvested beans to raise cash for school fees, an industry source said last week.<br>
UGANDA expects to export more coffee this month compared with May last year because farmers will release more of their harvested beans to raise cash for school fees, an industry source said last week.
The country is expected to export 210,000 60-kg bags of the commodity in May compared with 177,380 bags a year ago, the source at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said.
“We are expecting farmers to release a bigger amount of stock. They will be needing school fees to pay for their children to go back to school,†the source noted.
Ugandan schools re-open for the second term of the year on May 23.
“We also expect farmers to release more stocks to the market to benefit from the prevailing prices on the market,†the official pointed out.
The UCDA source indicated that the coffee farm gate price increased by an average of around 36% on year in April, inducing farmers to release all the stocks in their possession to the market.
This, he added, boosted export volumes. The harvest in the western and southern regions started late last month and continues to improve the level of stocks in the hands of producers, UCDA said.
The two regions account for at least 45% of Uganda’s annual coffee output.
Uganda is Africa’s largest robusta producer and robustas account for at least 85% of the country’s total coffee output.
Last month, Uganda’s coffee exports rose 16% on year aided by yields from the harvest.
However, the coffee body has revised the 2010-11 (October-September) production projections to 2.7 million bags from the earlier 3.1 million bags due to drought.
UCDA data indicate that Uganda’s seven-month coffee exports reached 1.49 million bags, down from the 1.6 million bags exported in the same period last year. The drop is attributed to lower-than-expected yields from the main harvest in the Central and Eastern regions due to drought.
Uganda exports nearly all its coffee output in bean form, mainly to the EU markets, and the country consumes only around 2% of its annual coffee output.
The country is expected to export 210,000 60-kg bags of the commodity in May compared with 177,380 bags a year ago, the source at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said.
“We are expecting farmers to release a bigger amount of stock. They will be needing school fees to pay for their children to go back to school,†the source noted.
Ugandan schools re-open for the second term of the year on May 23.
“We also expect farmers to release more stocks to the market to benefit from the prevailing prices on the market,†the official pointed out.
The UCDA source indicated that the coffee farm gate price increased by an average of around 36% on year in April, inducing farmers to release all the stocks in their possession to the market.
This, he added, boosted export volumes. The harvest in the western and southern regions started late last month and continues to improve the level of stocks in the hands of producers, UCDA said.
The two regions account for at least 45% of Uganda’s annual coffee output.
Uganda is Africa’s largest robusta producer and robustas account for at least 85% of the country’s total coffee output.
Last month, Uganda’s coffee exports rose 16% on year aided by yields from the harvest.
However, the coffee body has revised the 2010-11 (October-September) production projections to 2.7 million bags from the earlier 3.1 million bags due to drought.
UCDA data indicate that Uganda’s seven-month coffee exports reached 1.49 million bags, down from the 1.6 million bags exported in the same period last year. The drop is attributed to lower-than-expected yields from the main harvest in the Central and Eastern regions due to drought.
Uganda exports nearly all its coffee output in bean form, mainly to the EU markets, and the country consumes only around 2% of its annual coffee output.