The Ugandan coffee market has demonstrated a remarkable performance, achieving significant milestones in production and exports. Despite fluctuations in global coffee prices, Uganda's coffee sector has shown resilience and growth.
In the 2023/24 marketing year, Uganda was projected to achieve an impressive coffee production milestone of 6.85 million 60-kilogram bags. This demonstrates the country's capacity to produce substantial quantities of coffee, contributing significantly to its export earnings.
Coffee remains a cornerstone of Uganda’s exports, contributing over US $800 million annually-around 20 to 30 percent of total export earnings. Looking ahead, analysts stress that long-term growth will hinge on the sector’s ability to move into higher-value markets. According to Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze, farm-gate prices have stabilized, delivering much-needed optimism to both exporters and investors. This upturn closely follows gains in global commodity markets.
Uganda’s coffee farmers celebrate as rising prices bring relief and signal a strong recovery for the country’s top agricultural export. Last week, futures for both robusta and arabica climbed significantly: London’s November robusta contract reached US $4,067 per ton (roughly 16,579 UGX/kg), and New York’s December arabica contract rose to US¢334.20 per pound (around 26,156 UGX/kg).
According to the report, a kilogram of FAQ coffee is currently trading between UGX 13,000 and UGX 14,000, while Arabica parchment is fetching between UGX 13,500 and UGX 14,000 per kilo. In his address to farmers, stakeholders, and the public, Hon. Frank K.
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On the London market, Robusta coffee futures closed strongly, with the November 2025 position rising to USD 4,067 per ton, representing a gain of USD 115 from the previous close, while the January 2026 contract climbed to USD 3,943 per ton, up USD 129.
Export Performance and Market Dynamics
In February 2025, Uganda’s coffee exports reached a total of 555,756 60-kilogram bags, valued at approximately US$167.78 million. The average price for coffee during this period was US$5.03 per kilogram, indicating a significant increase compared to earlier months.
When comparing February 2025 to the same month in the prior year, there was a remarkable growth in both the quantity and value of coffee exports. The total volume of coffee exports in February 2025 exceeded that of February 2024. This increase can be attributed to several factors.
Looking at a broader timeline, coffee exports over the twelve-month period from March 2024 to February 2025 totalled 6.57 million bags, worth US$1.72 billion. This is an increase from the previous period, March 2023 to February 2024, which recorded exports of 6.14 million bags valued at US$999.84 million.
February 2025 witnessed a substantial increase in the export of both Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties compared to February 2024. Additionally, the value of Robusta exports surged by an impressive 97.39%, signifying a substantial increase in the revenue generated from these exports. Similarly, Arabica exports experienced a 43.60% growth in quantity and a remarkable 132.04% surge in value.
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An examination of the export market reveals that 71% of the total export volume in February 2025 was controlled by just 10 exporters, out of 61 companies actively involved in the market during that month. This concentration is slightly higher than in January 2025, when the top 10 exporters accounted for 70% of the volume.
Factors Influencing Coffee Prices
Although global coffee prices have gone up recently, partly because of lower supplies coming from Brazil, prices in Uganda have been relatively stable but have also dropped at times.One notable development is the reduction in moisture content of the beans, which has decreased from 12.5% to 12.2%. The private sector is also contributing to the industry through initiatives aimed at value addition, creating a more competitive coffee market.
Martine says, “We are really pushing on, too. Hopefully, by the end of 2026, many youth, women will have joined the industry as speculated. He adds that value addition is playing out well, as many value addition factories have been set up, where they are making many products out of coffee and also export roasted coffee to Europe. “Coffee prices are high now compared to past years.
Historical Export Price Trends for Roasted Coffee Beans
The export prices of Roasted Coffee Bean from Uganda have been on the rise over the past two years, driven by shifts in market supply and demand. In 2023, export prices ranged from $1.87 to $4.32 USD per kg. By 2024, these prices increased to a new range of $3.47 to $6.07 USD per kg, highlighting the continued growth in the export price of Uganda Roasted Coffee Bean.
| Year | Low price, USD/kg | High price, USD/kg | Low price, USD/lb | High price, USD/lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3.47 | $6.07 | $1.57 | $2.75 |
| 2023 | $1.87 | $4.32 | $0.85 | $1.96 |
| 2022 | $2.58 | $8.31 | $1.17 | $3.77 |
Historical Import Price Trends for Roasted Coffee Beans
The import price of Roasted Coffee Bean to Uganda has fluctuated over the past two years, reflecting shifting market trends. In 2023, import prices ranged from $3.15 USD per kg to $15 USD per kg. By 2024, price volatility persisted, with prices continuing to vary between $3.26 USD and $8.10 USD per kg, indicating ongoing market instability for Roasted Coffee Bean imports to Uganda.
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| Year | Low price, USD/kg | High price, USD/kg | Low price, USD/lb | High price, USD/lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3.26 | $8.10 | $1.48 | $3.67 |
| 2023 | $3.15 | $15.00 | $1.43 | $6.80 |
| 2022 | $2.50 | $22.90 | $1.13 | $10.39 |
Global Coffee Market Context
Arabica coffee futures have been fluctuating around $4 per pound since early October, as positive fundamentals lingered. The sustained decline in coffee inventories, below-average rainfall in Brazil’s top arabica region, Minas Gerais, and tariffs uncertainty continue to threaten global supplies. Typhoon-related risks in Vietnam’s Robusta regions further supported Arabica prices, as traders assessed potential supply disruptions.
Meanwhile, Arabica coffee stocks on the ICE are currently at their lowest level in a year and a half, around 430,000 60kg bags, close to the levels seen at the end of 2023. Coffee fell to 399.03 USd/Lbs on November 6, 2025, down 4.07% from the previous day. Over the past month, Coffee's price has risen 6.30%, and is up 54.30% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity.
Historically, Coffee reached an all time high of 440.85 in February of 2025. Coffee is expected to trade at 401.33 USd/Lbs by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations.
Arabica coffee it is the world benchmark for coffee futures contracts that trade on the Inter Continental Exchange (ICE). Arabica accounts for 75 percent of the world’s production and is mostly cultivated in Brazil (40% of the world’s total supply) and Colombia. Robusta account for the remaining 25% and is mostly produced in Vietnam (15% of global supply) and Indonesia.
Other major exporters include: Peru, India, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mexico and Cote Ivoire.
The retail price range for Uganda coffee is between US$ 9.39 and US$ 24.59 per kilogram or between US$ 4.26 and US$ 11.15 per pound(lb). Are you searching for Uganda coffee to purchase?
Historical Data
The export price per kilogram of Coffee from Uganda over the last five years has been relatively stable. In 2017, the price was 1.93 US $ per kg, followed by 1.73 US $ per kg in 2018. In 2019, the price dropped to 1.58 US $ per kg, and then further decreased to 1.56 US $ per kg in 2020. The price then increased to 1.76 US $ per kg in 2021.
Based on this trend, it is predicted that the export price per kilogram of Coffee from Uganda in 2023 will be around 1.76 US $ per kg, and in 2024 it will be around 1.93 US $ per kg.
The import price per kilogram of Coffee into Uganda has seen a steady decline over the past five years. In 2017, the price was $1.93, which dropped to $1.73 in 2018 and further to $1.58 in 2019. The price then remained relatively stable in 2020 and 2021, at $1.56 and $1.76 respectively.
Based on this trend, it is predicted that the import price per kilogram of Coffee into Uganda will be $1.54 in 2023 and $1.52 in 2024.
The total values in export for coffee in Uganda were US$ 371,555, US$ 555,153, US$ 435,984 and US$ 437,658 in US dollar thousand for the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 in that order.
In 2019 Uganda sold 276,842 tonnes of coffee. Across 2019 alone, the interest in Uganda coffee (processed category) has climbed, with a change of 9.783 per cent compared to the year 2018. Between 2017 and 2019, coffee's exports reduced by -3.54% netting the exporter US$437.66m for the year 2019.
In 2019, Uganda exported coffee worth 437.66m USD, an improvement of 0.38% from 2018's total coffee export of 435.984m USD. The annual growth in value of Uganda coffee between 2017 to 2018 was -21.466 percent. The annual variation in the quantity of Uganda's coffee exports between 2017 and 2019 was -3.54 pc compared to a variation of 9.783% in the period between 2018 and 2019.
Uganda's leading destinations for coffee are Italy, Morocco, Belgium, Portugal and Russia. Uganda ordered 8,308 tonnes of coffee in 2019.
The production of coffee in Uganda was 1,016,352 tonnes in 2019 and is projected to change by an average of -10.6%. The country had approximately 1,877,456.00 hectares under coffee cultivation.
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