Uganda expects its coffee production to rise by 14.8% in the 2025/26 crop year (October–September), driven by improved yields from newly planted farms, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The East African nation, Africa’s leading coffee exporter and a major grower of the robusta variety, has seen both production and exports increase sharply in recent months. This growth comes amid a global coffee price rally and additional harvests from maturing trees.
In the 12 months ending next September, Uganda projects coffee output to reach 9.3 million 60-kilogram bags, up from a forecast of 8.1 million bags in the previous period, said Gerald Kyalo, Commissioner for the Coffee Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, in an interview with Reuters.
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“The major reason is increased planting. Many farmers have planted coffee which we anticipate will come into production this year and will inevitably push up exports as well,” Kyalo explained.
For years, President Yoweri Museveni’s government has distributed free seedlings to both new and existing farmers to help them expand cultivation and open new farmland. In addition, the government has provided free fertilizer to support its long-term target of producing 30 million bags of coffee annually by 2030.
In the 12 months to August, Uganda earned $2.2 billion from coffee exports, a 57% increase from the previous year, according to ministry data.
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Image Credit: Africa Eye
