June coffee exports to drop 17%
Jun 15, 2010
UGANDA is forecast to export 210,000 60-kilogramme bags of coffee in June, down 17% for the same period last year, a source at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said on Monday.
By Vision Reporter
UGANDA is forecast to export 210,000 60-kilogramme bags of coffee in June, down 17% for the same period last year, a source at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said on Monday.
The June export forecast is up from 177,300 60-kg bags exported in May, but the east African country has been forced to lower its annual forecast to about 2.8 million bags due to wet weather between January and May.
“The rains were good and greatly helped in flowering and bean formation,†the UCDA source said. “So we will certainly get a good crop next year but for the mature crop from the south western districts the rains delayed ripening and affected drying, which explains the decline.â€
Uganda shipped a total of 254,000 bags of coffee in June last year. But the October-September 2009/10 season has been hit by drought and then by heavy rains, which have combined to depress yields. Western Uganda accounts for about 45 percent of the country's entire coffee output while eastern and central Uganda produce the rest.
UCDA has had to lower its output forecast for the 2009/10 coffee season from 3.1 million bags to about 2.8 million after realising the impact of last year's drought might be deeper than first thought. Uganda exported a total of 1.61 million bags in the first seven months of the 2009/10 season valued at $155m.
This was 13.5% and 14.7% lower in volume and value, respectively, compared with a similar period last year. UCDA had earlier forecast the 2009/10 exports to come in at 3.05 million bags.
Uganda is one of Africa’s leading exporters of the beans and their earnings constitute a major source of its foreign exchange inflows. Uganda shipped a total 220,620 bags in the same month in 2009, with the western region accounting for about 45% of the country’s entire coffee output.
UGANDA is forecast to export 210,000 60-kilogramme bags of coffee in June, down 17% for the same period last year, a source at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said on Monday.
The June export forecast is up from 177,300 60-kg bags exported in May, but the east African country has been forced to lower its annual forecast to about 2.8 million bags due to wet weather between January and May.
“The rains were good and greatly helped in flowering and bean formation,†the UCDA source said. “So we will certainly get a good crop next year but for the mature crop from the south western districts the rains delayed ripening and affected drying, which explains the decline.â€
Uganda shipped a total of 254,000 bags of coffee in June last year. But the October-September 2009/10 season has been hit by drought and then by heavy rains, which have combined to depress yields. Western Uganda accounts for about 45 percent of the country's entire coffee output while eastern and central Uganda produce the rest.
UCDA has had to lower its output forecast for the 2009/10 coffee season from 3.1 million bags to about 2.8 million after realising the impact of last year's drought might be deeper than first thought. Uganda exported a total of 1.61 million bags in the first seven months of the 2009/10 season valued at $155m.
This was 13.5% and 14.7% lower in volume and value, respectively, compared with a similar period last year. UCDA had earlier forecast the 2009/10 exports to come in at 3.05 million bags.
Uganda is one of Africa’s leading exporters of the beans and their earnings constitute a major source of its foreign exchange inflows. Uganda shipped a total 220,620 bags in the same month in 2009, with the western region accounting for about 45% of the country’s entire coffee output.