Uganda's September coffee export earnings up 54% on high global prices

The value of Uganda's coffee exports surged 53.8% in September, compared to the same period a year ago, on the back of a rise in global prices, the state regulator said.

Africa's largest exporter of the beans shipped 532,212 60-kilogram bags of coffee, for which it earned $144.7 million, 53.8% higher than earnings in same month last year, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a report.

Coffee, alongside gold, are Uganda's largest commodity exports and key source of foreign exchange.

"The value of coffee exports was higher as global coffee prices continue to rise, as dry conditions in Brazil and Vietnam... are seen to affect coffee crop yields," UCDA said in the report.

In terms of quantity, however, the shipments were down 7.7% due to poor flowering of the trees during the beans' formation at the early stages of the crop, UCDA said.