Uganda commits to increasing coffee exports to China

The Minister for State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem has said Uganda is committed to see an increase in its coffee exports to China.

The minister T made these remarks while speaking at the one day hybrid event of the  Uganda Coffee day organized by Uganda’s consulate in Guangzhou and Embassy in Beijing  as well as the  Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) with an aim of  increasing the volume of exported coffee and coffee products from Uganda to China.

The event which took place simultaneously in Guangzhou at Guangzhou Jinda Coffee & Beverages Market, one of the largest coffee markets in Southern China and UCDA Offices in Kampala featured a coffee cupping and tasting of the latest harvest of coffee samples of both Robusta and Arabica coffee

The minister commended the efforts of Uganda’s Consulate in Guangzhou and Embassy in Beijing for convening the event that  is in fulfilment of the ministry's deliberate policy to pursue economic and commercial diplomacy in a bid to strengthen bi-lateral trade with China.

Oyrem informed his audience that President Museveni Museveni, directed the Uganda Coffee Development Authority to accelerate the coffee production from 3.5 million 60kg bags to 20 million by 2025.

He affirmed that engagements like these will afford a necessary platform to explore the different ways on how this can be achieved.

According to Oryem, Ugandan coffee is now ranked third globally in terms of quality and  that government is looking at ways of supporting the private sector to penetrate the Chinese market which will give the farmer a good place in the global trade.

The Chinese Ambassador to Uganda, Zhang Lizhong lauded the excellent bilateral relations between China and Uganda .

He also reiterated China’s commitment to increase bilateral trade and informed that one of the ways to achieve this is through increased importation of Uganda’s coffee which has a unique taste and flavor loved by a significant percentage of Chinese people.

He also informed the audience of the commitment of the Chinese Embassy in Uganda to continue offering UCDA technical support to achieve this common goal for the mutual benefit of  both parties.

Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye, the Managing Director at Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), revealed that “Uganda is coming to China in a big way.”

He noted that Uganda’s coffee first arrived in China in 2003 and that Thursday’s event is one of the activities aimed at finding ways of how Ugandan coffee can penetrate the Chinese market.

He added that Uganda’s coffee roadmap of increasing coffee production from 3.5million  bags to 20million bags by 2030 has been informed by lessons worldwide in terms of the market.

He highlighted that “For China, UCDA is looking at a structured approach to offset the imports deficit through increased export volumes of coffee with focus on high quality specialty.”

The acting Ugandan Ambassador to China, Fred Mugisha further reiterated commitment to increase coffee exports to the Republic of China.

He highlighted a Memorandum of Understanding between Uganda and the People’s Republic of China which gives Ugandan coffee access to the Chinese market.

He encouraged coffee exporters to take advantage this MOU to increase coffee exports to China.

Cai Shuqiang, the president of the Jinda Coffee Market in Guangzhou, thanked the staff of the Uganda’s Consulate and Embassy in China and the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) for organizing this event the first Uganda Coffee Day in Guangzhou.

He underscored the enormous potential for Uganda coffee in China and  expressed commitment to partner with UCDA and any other willing Ugandan  company in the exportation of Uganda coffee to China.

He further emphasized that he would organize and lead delegation of Chinese Investors to Uganda to explore more opportunities in the coffee sector once the COVID-19 restrictions on travel in China are reviewed.

According to statistics from UCDA China’s coffee market is estimated at $11.5bn in annual sales and is expected to grow by 10% in the next five years.

Additionally, coffee consumption in China is growing at between 15%-20% annually.

With the increasing volumes of organically grown coffee, Uganda has an advantage over other African countries to capture the Chinese coffee market.

The event attracted key players in the coffee sector including  coffee importers & exporters, traders, roasters, dealers in coffee machinery & related equipment, media practioners and  relevant government departments.

It was concluded with an award prize giving ceremony for Uganda’s best coffees in cupping and tasting presided over by Jacky Lee as the judge and panel chief in Guangzhou.

Sipi falls Natural Anaerobic from Kawacom (U) Ltd, Natural from Mountain Harvest and  Mt Elgon UTZ AAA washed Arabica coffee all won different awards.