ICO Report: Uganda Shines as Leading Coffee Exporter in Africa

Uganda out shined Ethiopia in 2014/2015 to become Africa’s number one coffee exporter and seventh globally. This is according to statistics provided from the International Coffee Organization (ICO). Approximately 2.24 million bags of 60kg bags were exported by Uganda during the period, knocking out Ethiopia as the chief coffee exporter on the continent. In order to consolidate these gains, Uganda has also received a $1.3 billion grant from USAID’s Feed the Future Initiative. The two year project will improve Uganda’s coffee productivity for over 20,000 smallholder farmers in 22 coffee growing districts. According to the International Coffee Organization , the demand for coffee is strong in many countries, particularly in traditional markets of Canada, EU, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, USA, others. The biggest potential is in emerging markets such as Algeria, Australia, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine and coffee exporting countries, the statistic outlined. The International Coffee Organization (ICO), established 1963 in London, was initiated in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) to enhance cooperation between nations that consume, distribute and produce coffee. As of 2014, its 45 members consist of 39 exporting nations, 6 importing nations and 1 importing community (the European Union).