UGANDA – Exports down 19.6 percent in May

MILAN – The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (Ucda) has further revised downwards its forecast for coffee exports during the 2009/10 (Oct-Sep) season to 2.8 million bags from an earlier estimate of 3.05 million bags.

The Authority has also reported that exports plummeted 19.6 percent in May to 177,300 60-kg bags compared with 220,620 bags in the same month in 2009.

Erratic and adverse weather conditions, with last year\’s drought, followed by heavy rains, contributed to the lower output and affected quality as well.

Ucda expects coffee yields in the second half of the coffee year to peak in June-July, boosted by harvests from western Uganda.

Uganda exported a total of 1.61 million bags in the first seven months of the 2009/10 season valued at $155 million which was 13.5 percent and 14.7 percent down in volume and value respectively compared with the similar period last year.