The Ugandan Ambassador in Turkey , Nusura Tiperu has led a team of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala and Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) have held a coffee cupping and tasting session at Walker's Coffee House in Ankara, the Turkish capital.
The event which held on Sunday, October ,16, 2022 was one of the activities the embassy undertook to commemorate Uganda's 60th independence anniversary.
Uganda exports 3000 bags of coffee monthly to Turkey and the purpose of the event was to increase and promote awareness about Ugandan coffee among the Turkish importers and consumers. Uganda Coffee Exports to Turkey currently stand at 3000 bags monthly.
At the cupping , Ugandan coffee was tasted by producers and buyers around the world to check on its quality including cleanness, sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel and after taste.
Speaking during the event, Amb. Nusura Tiperu told the Turkish that coffee is one of Uganda’s main cash crop and the biggest foreign exchange earner being among the top five products exported from Uganda.
"Coffee accounts for about 13-15% of total export earnings and is the second highest foreign exchange earner for the country,"Tiperu said.
Tiperu reiterated that the event was in line with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassy's policy to promote commercial and economic diplomacy to enhance bilateral trade between Uganda and Turkey.
She further explained that this mandate to promote economic and commercial diplomacy requires the embassy to ensure that Uganda products are promoted, tangibly and stocked on the shelves of stores in and Ugandan coffee served in numerous Turkish restaurants and cities of Istanbul, Antalya, Ismir and Bursa among ohers.
"In Uganda, there is high level importance attached to the growing and consumption of coffee and it is embedded not only economically but also culturally."
She observed that Uganda has experienced growth in the coffee industry, making it the largest exporter of coffee by volumes, adding that the East African country is also the leading producer of Robusta and second largest producer of Arabica coffee, after Ethiopia, in Africa.
‘Uganda is not only a good place to do business, but one in which an investor will get the highest return on their investment."
According to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), Uganda grows two types of coffee including Robusta and Arabica in the ratio of 4:1.
UCDA said Arabica is grown at altitudes ranging between 1,300-2,300m above sea level while Robusta is grown at altitudes ranging from 900-1,500m above sea level making Ugandan coffee to possess very good intrinsic qualities due to high altitude, soils and farming systems not easily found elsewhere in the world.
Ugandan Robusta has a remarkably impressive cup when wet processed and is commonly deemed to be of exceptional quality and retains its flavour qualities very well, which cannot always be said of other washed Robusta coffee.
The variety of wild Robusta Coffee still growing today in Uganda’s rain forests is thought to be some of the rarest examples of naturally occurring coffee trees anywhere in the world.
Uganda is the second largest coffee producer in Africa after Ethiopia and the largest exporter on the continent.
Current coffee production stands at eight million 60kg bags while exports stand at 6.08 million 60kg bags for the year ended 2020.
The event was attended by a commendable section of members of Turkish business community especially those dealing in coffee businesss, and members of Ugandan community in Ankara, Istanbul among others.