The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDPENDENT | Uganda’s trade with the world suffered an expanded deficit in June 2024, compared to the balance of trade registered in May this same year.
According to figures at the ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Bank of Uganda, the difference between between the value of goods exported and those imported was 247.9 million dollars in favour of imports up from the 92.58 million dollar difference recorded in May.
Despite a reduction in the value of imports during the month, there was a bigger reduction in the value of exports, hence the increase in the deficit. The fall in the exports was largely due to the fall in mineral exports from 494 million dollars in May to 253 million in June while on the whole, total earnings from merchandise exported fell 718 million dollars in June, from a record monthly of 940.9 which was recorded in May.
However, when mineral products are excluded, total export earnings increased by 5.1 percent from 446.85 million dollars in May 2024 to 469.72 million in June 2024, owing to higher coffee receipts, according to the Performance of the Economy report for the month of July 2024.
Coffee exports fetched 162.36 million in June compared to the 127.3 million dollars in May, the growth driven by higher export volumes and an increase in international coffee prices.
The increase in coffee export volumes was mainly on account of higher Robusta coffee yields from the Greater Masaka and South Western regions of Uganda, while the rise in global prices resulted from reduced supply from Vietnam and Indonesia.
The July 2024 report shows another a record total of 821,593 bags valued at 210.5 million dollars were exported, the highest figure ever exported in a single month.
Between the two months, several other commodities recorded declines in export earnings, including cotton, tea and fish and fish products.
However, compared to the same month of last year (June 2023), the merchandise trade deficit narrowed by 2.9 percent, decreasing from 255.38 million in June 2023 to 247.93 million dollars in June 2024.
This is because between the two years, there was a higher increase in export earnings, which outpaced the rise in the import bill over the period.
Italy remained the largest market for Uganda’s coffee exports, accounting for 41.96 percent of the commodity’s total exports in June 2024.
Other significant markets included Germany, India, Sudan and Spain accounting for 10.55, 7.41, 6.87 and 5.4 percent respectively, of the total coffee exports.
Other notable destinations for Uganda’s exports were the Middle East with 24.5 percent share, followed by the European Union with 18.2 percent and East Asia, 18.0 percent of the total exports in the month.
In comparison to June 2023, the East Asia and EAC were the largest destinations of Uganda’s exports, accounting for 33.2 and 33.1 percent of the exports, respectively.
They were followed by the Middle East which took 13.9 percent and European Union, 12.9 percent of the total exports, respectively.
The value of merchandise imports declined by 6.5 percent from 1.03 billion in May 2024 to 966.53 million dollars in June 2024.
This was mainly due to lower volumes of formal private sector imports excluding oil, particularly; vegetable products, animal products, beverages, fats and oils as well as mineral products during the month.
On the other hand, when compared to the same month the previous year, the import bill grew by 7.6 percent from 898.28 million to 966.5 million dollars in June 2024.
This growth was majorly attributed to higher import volumes for petroleum products, chemical and related products, and mineral products.
East Asia was the largest source of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 34.6 percent of the total imports in June 2024, with China and India accounting for 46 and 27.5 percent of the total imports from the same region, respectively.
Significant volumes of imports also e from the East African Community amounting to 19.5 percent, while 17.2 came from the and 16.8 percent from the Middle East.
Within the EAC, Tanzania was the top source of Uganda’s imports with 54 percent of the market share, followed by Kenya which accounted for 42 percent of Uganda’s imports from the region.
In comparison to June 2023, Asia was the largest source of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 36.9 percent of the total.
This was closely followed by EAC, the Middle East and Rest of Africa at 26.9, 15.3 and 10.5 percent respectively.
Trade Balance by Region
During June 2024, Uganda traded performance was best against the European Union, with a surplus of 52.1 million dollars, while it also had surpluses against EAC of 45.3 and the Middle East, of 14.1 million dollars.
On the other hand, trade deficits were recorded with Asia having 205.4 million, Rest of Africa with 137.76 million and Rest of Europe at 2.14 million dollars.
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