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In an interview with the Ministry’s Head of Communications, Apollo Munghinda, it was revealed that Uganda experienced a significant boost in its exports, with goods valued at $650.57 million being exported in June 2023. This marked an impressive 11.1 percent rise compared to the $585.81 million recorded in May 2023. Munghinda emphasized that this surge was primarily attributed to heightened export earnings from beans, simsim, cotton, and gold during the month.
Moreover, Munghinda highlighted that coffee export receipts during the same period amounted to $90.56 million, exhibiting a remarkable 23.6 percent increase from the $73.26 million reported in May 2023. This surge was mainly attributed to the heightened global price of Robusta coffee, prompting exporters to release their stocks for sale.
Munghinda went on to compare the current figures to the previous year, noting that merchandise exports had experienced a substantial growth of 78.2 percent from June 2022’s $365.13 million to June 2023’s $650.57 million. This growth was primarily fueled by increased earnings from maize, simsim, gold, hides, and skins.
The economic performance report for July highlighted that the East African Community (EAC) continued to be Uganda’s largest export market, capturing 33.9 percent of the market share in June 2023. Among the EAC members, Kenya, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo represented 31.4 percent, 25.7 percent, and 24.7 percent of Uganda’s total exports to the EAC region, respectively.
In terms of export destinations, Asia and the Middle East secured the second and third positions, accounting for 32.8 percent and 13.8 percent of Uganda’s exports, respectively. The Ministry of Finance report pointed out a notable surge in Uganda’s export earnings from Asia, soaring from $28.12 million in June 2022 to an impressive $213.53 million in June 2023, largely due to increased gold exports to the region.
Shifting the focus to imports, the private sector observed a 3.5 percent rise in imports since May 2023. Commodities such as animals, animal products, petroleum products, vegetable products, beverages, fats and oils, as well as textiles and textile products collectively increased in value from $867.89 million to $898 million.
Comparing June 2022 to June 2023, the growth in merchandise imports was evident, surging by 23.0 percent from $730.24 million to $898.0 million. This was largely influenced by higher import volumes of minerals (excluding petroleum products), vegetables, meat, dairy, beverages, and fats and oils.
Based on statistics from June 2023, Asia continued to dominate as Uganda’s primary import supplier, contributing to 36.9 percent of all imports. China and India emerged as significant contributors within the Asian region, jointly accounting for 74.4 percent of imports from the region.
The EAC, the Middle East, and the Rest of Africa also made notable contributions, comprising 26.9 percent, 15.3 percent, and 10.5 percent of all imports, respectively. Within the EAC, Tanzania and Kenya stood out as the primary suppliers, collectively responsible for 62.5 percent and 33.5 percent of Uganda’s total imports.
Analyzing the trade balance by region in June 2023, Uganda experienced trade deficits with Asia, the rest of Africa, the Middle East, the EAC, and the rest of Europe, amounting to $117.72 million, $69.59 million, $48.28 million, $21.03 million, and $1.74 million, respectively.
