Coffee remains Uganda’s top foreign exchange earnerThe Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has revealed that Uganda earned US$1,198.86million (Shs4.301Trn) in May 2025, with coffee, cocoa beans and mineral products emerging as the high export value products from the country.The details are contained in the Performance of the Economy Monthly Report June 2025 that was published on Monday by the Ministry of Finance.“The value of total merchandise exports amounted to US$1,198.86million (Shs 4.301Trn) in May 2025.This is 36.8 percent higher than the USD876.40 million recorded for the same month of the previous year. This growth in exports was mainly driven by increased earnings from coffee, cocoa, and mineral products,” read in part the report.According to the Ministry of Finance, the amount of earnings from coffee exports grew by 91.6percent between May 2024 and May 2025 as both the volume and prices were better in 2025 compared to a year ago and in particular, Uganda exported 793,44560-kilo bags of coffee in May 2025, earning a total of USD243.95million (Shs875.184Bn).Similarly, favorable global prices of cocoa due to lower production in West Africa coupled with Uganda’s improved production of the commodity resulted in the country more than tripling the volume of cocoa beans exported from 3,010tons in May 2024 to 9,867tons in May 2025.Consequently, the country earned a total of USD108.58million (Shs389.739Bn) from cocoa exports in May 2025 compared to USD22.14million (Shs79.424Bn) in May 2024.Other notable export commodities that registered growth included mineral products, tea, fish, beans, fruits and vegetables among others.The report further indicated that the growth in commodity exports was also registered between May 2025 and the month before. The value of exports increased by 6.9 percent from USD1,120.98 million (Shs4.021Trn) in April 2025 to USD1198.86 million (Shs4.3Trn) in May 2025, and this was still driven by increments in exports of coffee, cocoa, mineral products, tea, fish, beans, fruits and vegetables.On big consumers of Ugandan products, the Ministry of Finance cited the Middle East as the biggest market for Uganda’s exports in May 2025, accounting for 34.4 percent of the total merchandise exported during the month, while the East African Community (EAC) also remains an important export destination, having taken 25 percent of Uganda’s exports during the month. Of the total exports to the EAC, 20.4 percent was through the Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT).Other notable importers of Ugandan goods in May 2025 included the European Union and Asia which accounted for 19.1 percent and 15.5 percent, respectivelyAdditionally, the Ministry of Finance also revealed that there was a 30.1 percent growth in the total of merchandise imports to Uganda from the rest of the world in May 2025 compared to May 2024.In the latter month, the country imported merchandise worth USD 1,007.08 million (Shs 3.614Trn) while in the former, imports increased to USD1,309.71 million (Shs 4.697Trn).Similarly, there was growth, albeit modest, of merchandise imports between April 2025 and May 2025. In April 2025, the total merchandise import bill was recorded at USD 1,235.65 million (Shs4.434Trn).The Ministry explained, “The increase in imports, both on a month-on-month basis and on a year-on-year basis, was mainly driven by formal private sector oil and non-oil imports. Vegetable products, animal products, beverages, fats & oil imports grew by 59.5 percent between May 2024 and May 2025, and by 5.2 percent between April 2025 and May 2025.”Among the notable imports included imports of machinery equipment, Vehicles and Accessories that are said to have increased by 20.8 percent and 18.7 percent during those respective periods.Other categories of merchandise imports that recorded significant increments in May 2025 compared to April 2025 and May 2024 included base metals and their products, wood and wood products, petroleum products, and prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco. Mineral Products (excluding Petroleum products) increased by 50.4 percent between May 2024 and May 2025 but registered a 7.3 percent decline between April 2025 and May 2025.On the other hand, petroleum products registered a major growth of 40.4 percent between April 2025 and May 2025 and a modest growth of 4.2 percent between May 2025 and the same month of the previous year.The Ministry of Finance further revealed that most of the products imported into Uganda in May 2025 came from Asia, accounting for 33.1 percent of the total imports for the month and this was followed by the East African Community (EAC) which contributed 31.0 percent of the total imports.The report further highlighted that more than half of the imports from the EAC region were from Tanzania in May 2025. Other notable sources of Uganda’s imports were the rest of Africa and the Middle East which accounted for 18.7 percent and 10.1 percent of the total imports, respectively.The post Coffee, Cocoa & Mineral Products On Top As Uganda Earns Shs4.3Trn From May Exports appeared first on Business Focus.