Uganda’s April coffee exports dip 26%
May 06, 2010
UGANDA'S April coffee exports fell 26 percent to 152,640 60-kg bags from the same period a year ago as the season ends and due to after effects of 2009’s drought, a source at the industry regulator said on Thursday.
KAMPALA
UGANDA'S April coffee exports fell 26 percent to 152,640 60-kg bags from the same period a year ago as the season ends and due to after effects of 2009’s drought, a source at the industry regulator said on Thursday.
“Usually April is lowest in yield in the coffee year because the harvest in central and eastern Uganda is ending,†the source at state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in an interview on Thursday.
“And then when you add that to the impact of last year’s drought, the result has been the sharp decline in export volumes.â€
The East African country is one of the continent’s top exporters of the beans and their earnings make up a major source of foreign exchange.
Uganda primarily grows Robusta.
The source said Uganda shipped a total of 205,725 bags last April which earned $19.1m.
A more detailed report with April earnings is still being compiled.
Uganda’s coffee season runs between October and September.
Eastern and central Uganda account for around 55 percent of the country's total coffee output, according to UCDA.
April’s exports plunged 32 percent from 217,809 bags in March that earned $21.8m.
UCDA had forecast April exports to stand at about 184,000 bags.
The source said coffee yields in the second half of the coffee year would peak in June-July, boosted by harvests from western Uganda.
Last year’s drought prompted UCDA to lower its output forecast for the 2009/10 season to 3.1 million bags from 3.4 million bags.
Uganda exported a total of 1.45 million bags of coffee in the first six months of 2009/10 coffee year, earning $140m, according to officials figures.
Reuters
UGANDA'S April coffee exports fell 26 percent to 152,640 60-kg bags from the same period a year ago as the season ends and due to after effects of 2009’s drought, a source at the industry regulator said on Thursday.
“Usually April is lowest in yield in the coffee year because the harvest in central and eastern Uganda is ending,†the source at state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in an interview on Thursday.
“And then when you add that to the impact of last year’s drought, the result has been the sharp decline in export volumes.â€
The East African country is one of the continent’s top exporters of the beans and their earnings make up a major source of foreign exchange.
Uganda primarily grows Robusta.
The source said Uganda shipped a total of 205,725 bags last April which earned $19.1m.
A more detailed report with April earnings is still being compiled.
Uganda’s coffee season runs between October and September.
Eastern and central Uganda account for around 55 percent of the country's total coffee output, according to UCDA.
April’s exports plunged 32 percent from 217,809 bags in March that earned $21.8m.
UCDA had forecast April exports to stand at about 184,000 bags.
The source said coffee yields in the second half of the coffee year would peak in June-July, boosted by harvests from western Uganda.
Last year’s drought prompted UCDA to lower its output forecast for the 2009/10 season to 3.1 million bags from 3.4 million bags.
Uganda exported a total of 1.45 million bags of coffee in the first six months of 2009/10 coffee year, earning $140m, according to officials figures.
Reuters