Uganda’s Bushbucks Coffee expands global reach with entry into Japanese market

Bushbuck Coffee, a Ugandan coffee roaster and seller of premium specialty coffee beans has expanded its footprints in the global market by selling its maiden coffee consignment to Japan.

In a flagship event on Wednesday, Bushbucks Coffee handed over a consignment of 34 boxes of roasted coffee to DHL Global Forwarding for further shipment to Japan and the products will be available in local retail outlets and cafes in Tokyo from the first week of November 2021 onwards.

“As a brand that prides in a meticulous process and stringent quality control measures which results in a premium coffee experience for our consumers, the entry of Bushbucks Coffee into the Japanese market is yet another milestone in ensuring we get Uganda’s unique coffee to as many tables across the globe,” said Chirag Pandya, the Director for Bushbucks Coffee.

He however hailed the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) for their guidance and support in choosing the right coffee beans, developing roast profiles and different platforms to showcase their products.

According to Bushbucks Coffee, their premium blend of Espresso and Nyasaland variety of Arabica coffee will now be available to not only the Ugandan consumers but also coffee lovers in New York, London and Tokyo in 250g and 500g pouches.

The company has also boasted of helping hundreds of coffee farmers in Bugisu sub-region in Eastern Uganda who are involved in selectively picking the coffee cherries, sorting them into different quality categories and processing the coffee.

Pandya explained that working closely with the farming communities is critical in broadening the understanding on the characteristics of Nyasaland which is the company’s flagship coffee blend while discovering more about its cultivation and processing techniques.

Nyasaland coffee which is one of Africa’s oldest Arabica coffee varieties.

He noted that the value chain also involves preservation, value addition and quality control, all of which have created opportunities for local households to earn income sustainably.

“Our mission is to bring together the efforts of all those who worked on the taste of the cup. From validating the efforts of the farmers, pickers, those who processed, sorted and graded the coffee, cuppers and roasters,” Pandya added.

According to officials, Bushbuck Coffee also works directly with farmers in facilitating some of the processes like milling the coffee which automatically increases the farmer’s income given that they are paid at an international rate and a premium on top of every yield.

Uganda which is Africa’s second-largest coffee producer, after Ethiopia, exported 6.4 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee worth $607.8 million in the last 12 months (September 2020 to August 2021) compared to 5.2 million bags valued at $502.2 million in the previous year.

This represents a 22.9% and 21%year-on-year increase in both quantity and value respectively.

There was an increase of 34.8 % and 63 % in quantity and value in Uganda’s exports of Robusta and Arabica respectively in August this year compared to August 2020.

UCDA says the increase in Robusta exports during the month of August compared to the previous year was due to favorable weather and a positive trend in global coffee prices in the month of July and August as Brazil, the world’s largest producer of coffee, faced the threat of frost, which prompted exporters to release their stocks.