Uganda Coffee Development Authority partners with private sector to enhance sector performance

UGANDA – The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to boost development of the coffee sector in the country.

PSFU is an umbrella body for the private sector made up of 298 Business associations, Corporate bodies and the major Public Sector Agencies that support private sector growth in Uganda.

Under the agreement, UCDA will work with PSFU to establish a mutual cooperation in the coffee subsector regarding production, productivity, marketing, policy environment, research and coffee business in the Private Sector of Uganda.

Stephen Asiimwe, the CEO PSFU noted that the private sector is the engine for economic growth in the country and working UCDA is going to open up new opportunities in areas such as ICT, tourism marketing, domestic consumption and finance.

He added that the Memorandum is timely and a strong public private partnership will propel the industry to greater heights.

Under the memorandum, the specific areas of cooperation will include creation and exchange of information, cooperation on promoting coffee production, processing, domestic consumption and marketing in the private sector in Uganda and its membership.

Other areas include promotion and improvement in the marketing of coffee, including developing digital marketing platforms, with a view of optimizing efficiency and job creation among the youth.

It will also focus on promoting domestic consumption of coffee in the private sector; promotion of coffee tourism and promotion of internationally accepted standards and quality of coffee to enhance its competitiveness.

UCDA will further collaborate with PSFU to influence and lobby areas of mutual interest and pursue legal, regulatory and policy changes in the coffee value chain.

The two entities also agreed to raise private sector awareness about the value of coffee to the economy and household livelihood.

The coffee industry is one of the key sectors in Uganda, immensely contributing towards economic development in the East African nation through supporting small-holder farmers and is one of the country’s top export earners.

In the month of June 2022, the country exported 530,365 60-kilo bags of coffee worth US$ 83.79 million, reflecting a 14.23% decline in quantity but an increase of 43.11% in value compared to the same month last year as the country benefitted from the rising coffee prices across the globe.

The total exported coffee volumes during the month under review comprised 444,197 bags of Robusta valued at US$60.98 million and 86,168 bags of Arabica valued at US$ 22.82 million.

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