Uganda’s export earnings nearly doubled in October from the same period last year, driven by a surge in revenue from commodities such as coffee, cocoa, and gold, a Ministry of Finance report showed on Thursday.
The East African country’s export earnings from merchant goods rose to $1.5 billion in October from $769.6 million in the same month in 2023, according to the report.
Uganda is Africa’s largest coffee exporter, and its earnings from the crop have surged in recent months, driven by high global prices.
Coffee has been a key driver of the surge, with Uganda remaining Africa’s largest exporter as earnings rose on the back of high global prices and stronger output.
Government replanting programmes and favourable weather helped lift production, while rising cocoa exports also contributed to higher overall export revenues, according to official data.
Gold earnings
Uganda’s earnings from gold shipments more than tripled to $964.6 million in October from revenues earned in the same month a year ago, according to Bank of Uganda data.
Gold prices have surged this year, fuelled by factors including safe-haven demand and U.S. dollar weakness.
Uganda, in August, inaugurated its first large-scale gold mine, a $250 million Chinese-owned project in the country’s east that will also refine the bullion to 99.9% purity, according to a statement from the president’s office.
The landlocked East African country, which has a variety of minerals including copper, cobalt and iron ore, wants to expand its mining industry and position itself as a major gold producer and exporter.
Last year, Uganda raised $3.4 billion from gold exports, according to central bank data, about 37% of the country’s total export revenue. The figure includes the re-export of gold brought into the country, with nearly all its domestic production from small-scale artisanal miners.
