DJ Uganda 2009-10 Coffee Output May Drop 5% On Year Due To Bad Weather

KAMPALA (Dow Jones)–Uganda\’s 2009-10 coffee output in the year ending September could drop by around 5% due to unfavorable weather conditions in the eastern and central regions, which account for at least 55% of the total coffee output, a trade official told Dow
Jones Newswires Friday. 
An official with the state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority said output is projected to drop to around 2.9 million 60-kilogram bags down from 3.06 million bags last season. 

\”There was a severe drought in the east and central regions early last year which hurt yields, and the crop in the west and the south is being hampered by above-normal rains,\” he added.  

The main harvest in the east and central regions ended in February, while the second harvest in the west and the south began mid-May.

This is the second time the coffee body has lowered production projections in the current season.  

In February, UCDA lowered the forecast from 3.4 million bags to 3.1 million bags citing effects of the drought in the first five months of 2009. 

Uganda is Africa\’s largest robusta coffee grower.  

UCDA data indicate Uganda\’s coffee exports in the first seven months of the 2009-10 season dropped by 13.5% on year to reach 1.61 million bags. 

Uganda exports nearly all its coffee output in bean form, mainly to EU markets.  The country is Africa\’s largest coffee exporter, according to the International Coffee Organization.  
 
-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires