UIA Newsletter Issue 2

UIA Woos Coffee Industry Players into Value Addition

Uganda is the second largest coffee producer in Africa, after Ethiopia and the largest in East Africa. Even with the introduction of other exports, coffee remains among the top traditional cash crops and is one of the country’s leading foreign exchange earners. As an important agricultural export, coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues i.e. about 18% of the total national export value in 2013/14.

In regard to species, Uganda is Africa’s largest Robusta coffee producer accounting for 7% of world Robusta exports. Robusta, which is famous for its mild taste and usefulness for blending, is indigenous to Uganda. World renowned coffee brands use it for espresso blends.

The coffee sub sector has been prioritized by the Governments of Uganda, as a sector that has the potential to create jobs and eradicate poverty. In order to achieve this, strategies have been put in place to increase productivity of this greatly sought after product.

Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is at the core of promoting the sector for investment in value addition, so that the country is able to get more value for money.

In December 2015, UIA organized a coffee industry dialogue at Hotel Africana in Kampala to underscore the need to add value to coffee from farm level up the table.

Most of the coffee is exported as raw green or roast beans.

In the meeting, UIA sought to exchange ideas with the coffee business sector and lay strategy on how to attract investment into coffee processing from the markets to which they export as well encourage them to form joint ventures that could engage in value addition.

The participants in the meeting were agreeable and made proposals for a more enabling investment environment which included:

The need to protect the domestic industry by controlling the amount of processed coffee that is imported into the country.
The creation of a fund for startup investment funds
The proper allocation and utilization of land by attracting potential coffee investors.

Eng. Dr. Frank Sebbowa appreciated the candid dialogue with the coffee industry players, who included growers, roasters, and the few processors in Uganda. He assured them of Government’s commitment to provide support to investors.

For instance, it is Government policy to provide industrial land (within the country’s industrial and business parks), free of premium, to both domestic and foreign investors who want to invest in coffee and any other agro processing facility. This will provide a market for the increased coffee production and jobs.