Food Exports

Uganda mostly exports agricultural products (80% of total exports) where the most important exports are coffee (22%) followed by tea, cotton, copper, oil and fish. Uganda’s main export partners are Sudan (15%), Kenya (10%), DR Congo, Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, and UAE: Uganda Indicators (tradingeconomics.com)

• Coffee is the main export commodity in Uganda in terms of value (555.7 billion USD in 2017) and fourth in terms of volume 313 K MT in 2019.31
• Fish production is the second largest export in terms of value with a total of almost 179 million USD (2017).
• Maize and beans are respectively 4th and 5th main export commodities in terms of value. Including other grains (sorghum, rice, sesame, and soya beans), they represent 11.5% of total exports in value.
  • Diverse variety of grains are produced across all regions in Uganda.
  • For maize the main production area is Eastern Uganda with about half production with the rest produced in Western, Central and Northern regions.
  • Most of Uganda’s grain production is grown by smallholders (ca. 80%) while commercial farms’ share is about 20% where the maize sub-sector is a source of income for about 3 million agricultural/farm households, more than 1,000 traders and exporters, according to UBOS statistics.
  • According to the Grain Council of Uganda TGCU there are about 200 consolidation centers or “Grain Regional Hubs” (GRH) across the country providing cleaning, grading, drying and other value-added services: The Grain Council of Uganda - Uniting key stakeholders in the grain value chains (tgcu.org)

Food Imports

Rice and Wheat are by far the largest imported grain cereal commodities in Uganda in terms of volume and commercial value.

• UBOS statistics show cereal imports by Uganda stood at USD 288.8 Million during the year 2017.
• Grain cereals are imported from several countries, for example rice, is majorly procured from Pakistan, whereas Wheat is mainly imported from Russia, Argentina, and Ukraine.
• Rice from Tanzania enters Uganda duty free under the Common External Tariff (CET) arrangement of the East African Community.
• Uganda imports 95 per cent of wheat grain requirement costing over $121m and growing annually Wheat flour & milling is increasingly becoming an essential commodity.
• Most of the Uganda major domestic buyers are located in greater Kampala.