The East-African nation of Uganda topped the continent’s coffee exports for 2019, according to the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) Coffee Market Report for November.
Coffee exports from Uganda rose by 7.4% over the past year, with more than 350 000 bags being shipped out of the country in November.
In the ICO report, released on Wednesday, the organisation said that although Arabica exports from Uganda had dipped, the increase in Robusta exports had seen the country’s coffee industry steadily grow.
“In comparison with the same month the previous year, Arabica exports from Uganda fell 30% to 75 501 bags, while Robusta exports rose by 24.6% to 302 737 bags. However, the increase in Robusta exports have more than offset the fall, and as a result total exports from the country increased 7.4% for the same period,” it said.
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority pointed to solid main and secondary harvests as the primary cause for growth in the industry in 2019.
On top of the growth in Uganda, the global coffee market rallied to a 12-month high during November as the ICO composite indicator, which provides an overall benchmark for the price of green coffee of all major origins and type, consistently stayed over 100 US cents per pound of coffee.
“November 2019 marked the first time in the last 12 months when the ICO Composite Indicator consistently stayed over 100 US cents/lb. The monthly average of the Indicator rose 10.1% to 107.23 US cents/lb amid expectations of a global deficit in coffee for 2019/20, estimated at 502 000 bags,” the report stated. – Bjorn Vorster