Uganda sees improved coffee output next season

Kampala – Heavy rains in Uganda are expected to produce a rich coffee harvest between June and September and could see the country beat its export forecast of three million 60-kilogramme bags for the 2012/2013 season, according to a senior industry official.Weather forecasters in Africa’s leading coffee exporter have said most parts of the country will experience above normal rains between March and May after a dry spell in the first two months of the year.“These rains should guarantee a bumper crop between June and September,” said David Muwonge, the marketing and production manager at the National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises.“In those months, harvesting will be underway in the western and southwestern regions and I think we’re likely to see a significantly high yield from those areas.”The two regions account for 45 per cent of Uganda’s total annual coffee output, while the central and eastern regions produce the rest. According to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), Uganda has shipped 1.3 million bags of coffee in the first five month of the 2012/2013 (October-September) season, up from 1.1 million bags exported in the same period last year. Uganda’s earned $167.5m in the first five months of this season to compared to $172.1m for the same period last season.

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Uganda sees improved coffee output next season