Ugandan crop to post 13.5 per cent increase

With some of the world’s top producers of Robusta experiencing tough growing conditions of late, leading to record high Robusta prices, news out of Uganda about a better-than-expected crop in 2016/17 is a rare ray of light. Africa’s leading coffee exporter, the majority of Uganda’s national crop is Robusta, with a projected output of 4.2 million bags in 2016/17, up from 3.7 million in 2015/16. While international coffee buyers will be hoping the improved outlook will lead to some relief in prices, figures show that they will be competing with local consumers, who are drinking coffee in ever larger amounts, according to figures from Uganda’s National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farmer Enterprises (NUCAFE). At present, about five per cent of Uganda’s crop is consumed domestically, however NUCAFE estimates that this will rise to 10 per cent over the next five years.