Uganda: President Museveni to Inspect Progress On Ntungamo Coffee Park Project

20 May 2024
Nile Post (Kampala)
By David Ijjo

President Museveni is set to visit the site of a major coffee value addition project in Rwashamaire Town Council, Ntungamo District, on Tuesday, May 21.

During the second G-25 African Coffee Summit held in Kampala in August 2023, leaders from African coffee-producing countries agreed to halt the export of raw coffee beans and push for value addition.

Since then, the Government of Uganda ramped up investments in the coffee value addition chain through the Coffee Investment Consortium Uganda (CICU).

This initiative aims to increase export revenue, create employment opportunities, and enhance farm gate prices.

Uganda's coffee exports reached a historic milestone, surpassing the USD 1 billion mark for the first time between May 2023 and April 2024, fetching $1.02 billion.

This is a significant leap from the $940.3 million earned in the Financial Year 2022/2023, which itself marked a 7% increase from the previous fiscal year.

In the FY 2023/2024, the Ugandan government allocated resources through the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Secretariat under the Office of the President to establish a modern industrial coffee park in Ntungamo.

Construction, which began in October 2023, is currently 60 percent complete and is slated for completion by December 2024.

The park, supervised by the State House Engineering Unit and built by local and international contractors, will produce instant coffee, drip coffee, malt coffee, coffee energy drinks, and coffee beauty cosmetics.

"Value addition is key to maximizing our coffee sector's potential. By increasing the value of our coffee exports, we aim to raise revenue from the current $1 billion to $4 billion in the long term," read a statement from CICU.

President Museveni's visit will not only appraise the progress of the construction but also provide an opportunity for him to interact with farmer groups and other stakeholders.

CICU, which unites coffee stakeholders in Uganda, is at the forefront of promoting the export of value-added coffee, enhancing the country's reputation as a single-source origin of high-quality coffee.

Read the original article on Nile Post.

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