Uganda to boost exports in 2019

This year, the Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB) hopes to increase Uganda's export earnings from $3.17 billion to $3.5 billion.

This was revealed by UEPB executive director Dr. Elly Twineyo who said the figures will be aided by the increased production and growing demand for Uganda’s products in the oversea markets.

For more than a decade Uganda has been struggling with increasing its export earnings.

This has been attributed to bad weather and the turbulence in the global economy.

Latest figures from Uganda Export Promotion Board indicate a 10 % growth from $ 3.179 billion in 2016/17 financial year to $ 3.53 billion in just ended 2017/18 financial year.

Twineyo attributed this to the growth of the economy from 5% to 7 % coupled with the good weather last year which led to the boom in the agriculture sector.

Uganda earned $492 million from coffee and $ 41.16 million from cotton.

Dr. Twineyo said these products have enormous opportunities to fetch Uganda more money but there is need to mechanise and commercialise the agriculture sector.

To enable the exports to increase in the year 2019 The Uganda Export Promotions Board now intends to eliminate middlemen in the export chain.

“In Butambala, farmers lost over Shs 7,500 on every kilo of hot pepper. This was absurd and  unacceptable. We need to work with the producers directly and we link them to the buyers from different countries," he said.

The said Uganda mainly exports to the regional markets, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, but the two markets are particular on quality.