Classification of Ugandan coffee beans in Uganda, the second largest coffee producer in Africa

Uganda is the second largest coffee producer in Africa, the fourth largest Robusta coffee producer and the tenth largest coffee producer in the world.

One out of every 10 coffee farms in the world is located in Uganda, where 1.7 million coffee households account for 10 per cent of global farms.

Coffee production in Uganda may still be viable in the coming decades, but the future environmental scenario requires our attention now; if we are not fully prepared, high levels of deforestation, extreme weather, rampant coffee tree diseases and unstable social factors all threaten the future of Ugandan coffee.

Where and who makes coffee in Uganda?

Ugandan coffee is grown in five regions of Uganda: central, western, southwestern, northern and eastern. The western region is famous for producing the highest quality coffee.

The production of Arabica and Robusta is most commonly located in southwestern Uganda.

Greetings from the Origin of Robusta!

Robusta coffee is native to the Nganda region of Uganda. Wild species are still found at the foot of the Ruwenzori Mountains in western Uganda.

The ratio between Rob Sta Arabica and production is 4:1. About 77% of annual production is robusta coffee produced in central Uganda. Arabica coffee is produced on the borders of Rwanda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and accounts for 23 per cent of the country's production.

Busta coffee is 8 to 1400 meters above sea level and Arabica coffee is 2300 to 6000 meters above sea level. High altitude, especially Robusta, Uganda, makes it very unique and has inherent quality characteristics / attributes.

Uganda is a landlocked country, so coffee must be exported more than 1200 kilometers (nearly 746 miles) of road to Mombasa, Kenya. The cost and time of this journey limit the potential of Uganda to export non-commodity grade coffee or roasted / instant coffee.

Some sources claim that up to 20 per cent of Ugandan coffee is certified but not so sold. Only UTZ certification or organic certification is reported at the time of export. The number of other certifications, such as Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance, is either unspecified or not exported. From 2007 to 2015, certified coffee accounted for 1.2% of Robusta coffee and 5% of Arabica coffee exports.

Uganda uses a well-designed quality grading system. Certificates of various levels are issued by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA). Caffeine varieties, processes, coffee bean size and other quality attributes, as well as certification and origin vary.

Coffee is an important economic driver in Uganda.

Uganda has between 120 and 1.7 million households producing coffee: this is for every four rural households, or five households, in the country.

In Uganda, about four or six people live in coffee families.

Although corn has a larger land footprint (2.4 million hectares), coffee planted with a significant reduction (390000 hectares) accounted for 20 per cent (US $555 million) of the country's total exports in 2018. Therefore, economic value makes coffee very important on the political agenda.