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Uganda August coffee shipments down 14% on drought - REUTERS
KAMPALA, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Uganda’s coffee exports fell 13.7% in August from a year earlier, as a prolonged drought reduced the harvest in some areas, a report and an industry player said.
- Coffee, alongside gold, are the east African country’s largest foreign exchange earners while Uganda is also Africa’s largest coffee exporter.
- Uganda shipped a total of 737,766 60-kilogram bags in August compared to 855,441 bags exported in the same period last year, according to a report by the agriculture ministry shared with Reuters on Thursday.
- The report did not give a reason for the drop in exports but an industry player told Reuters a prolonged drought blighted coffee trees in some parts of the country and depressed harvests.
- In terms of value, August exports earned the country $181.7 million, down 11.6% from earnings in the corresponding month a year ago, the report showed.
