Uganda coffee exports soar

Friday July 8, 2011

KAMPALA, (Reuters) - Coffee exports from Uganda, one of Africa's leading exporters of the beans, rose by 58 percent in June compared with the year ago period, a source at state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said on Friday.

The rise was partly due to a good harvest and the weakening local currency, which has been weak against the dollar in recent months, and hit a record low of 2,710 on June 30 against the U.S. currency before the central bank stepped in to prop it up.

Uganda's June coffee exports rose to 370,924 60-kg bags, surpassing the 265,000 bags forecast for the month of June, said the source at UCDA.

Coffee export earnings for the month of June more than doubled to $53 million from $23.03 million in June 2010.

Harvesting is underway in the south and southwestern parts of the east African country and both regions account for 45 percent of the country's total annual coffee production.