Uganda sees coffee exports growing 11%

Uganda forecasts its coffee exports in the 2012/13 season will increase 11 percent after periods of drought this year hurt harvests, a source at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said on Thursday.

The UCDA official said exports were seen hitting 3 million 60-kg bags in the new season that runs from October to September compared with 2.7 million bags in the last season that was hit by low rainfall. The east African country had projected exporting 3.2 million bags of coffee in 2011/12.

"We had episodes of drought in the last coffee year and when coffee doesn't get sufficient rain ... it doesn't mature well and the harvest will be disappointing," the UCDA official told Reuters.

"There are signs the next year might be different.. (The) weather might be favourable and we think a forecast of 3 million bags is achievable."

The official also said exports in September fell by half to 176,301 60-kg bags from 340,378 bags in the same month a year earlier.

"The harvesting in the southwest is at its tail-end and normally yields tend to be low," the official said.

Uganda, which mainly cultivates robusta, is Africa's leading exporter of the beans and their earnings are a major source of foreign exchange. Reuters