Uganda’s surging coffee exports

Performance of Uganda’s coffee export volumes and earnings in the past seven years

Source: UCDA

Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda drops

Available data indicates that Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda registered a sharp drop in their coffee exports citing adverse weather conditions that took a toll on the crop.

Kenya’s export volumes dropped by 11.3% to 34.092 metric tonnes for the year ended 2016/17 season, according to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, citing unfavorable weather conditions across the coffee growing regions.

Tanzania recorded a decline in the coffee export volumes from 1.2million bags to 1.05million bags citing biennial bearing cycle, according to Tanzania Coffee Board.

The Tanzanian government is currently implementing its coffee sector strategic plan whose objective is to double production by 2021.

Similarly, Rwanda saw its coffee export volumes decline from 19,560,636kgs sold in 2015/16 season to 18,502,442kgs last season, indicating a 3.61% drop in earnings, according to the National Agricultural Export Board (NAEB).

Beyond East Africa

Meanwhile, globally, coffee production in 2016/17season is currently estimated at 153.9 million bags, representing a 1.5% increase compared with previous year on the back of high production in Brazil and Colombia.

While Arabica production is up by 10.2% to 97.3 million bags as a result of bumper harvest, Robustas are estimated to be down by 10.6% to 56.6 million bags.

“Despite increases in production while consumption decreased slightly, 2016/17 is seen in deficit for the third consecutive year, with consumption exceeding production by 1.2 million bags,” the ICO report says in part.

However, the report notes that the market has remained well supplied by stocks accumulated during surplus years in 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons, with stocks in importing countries reaching 25.4million bags as at the end of June 2017, their highest level since June 2009, to provide a buffer against any short-term supply concerns.

Brazil’s coffee production for 2016/17 season is estimated at 55 million bags, up 9.2% compared to the previous year, due to partial recovery from drought in the preceding two years, particularly for Arabica.

Similarly, Colombia ended the 2016/17 season with a total production of 14.5 million bags, its highest volume since 1992/93 season and the fifth consecutive season of growth.

Exports from Colombia rebounded by 9.6% to 12.4 million bags in the first eleven months of the 2016/17 season, following an unusually low volume of shipments due to a truck drivers’ strike in the previous season.

However, production in Vietnam, another world’s leading coffee production, declined by 11.3% to 25.5 million bags due to dry weather at the beginning of the year followed by rains during harvesting.