UCDA signs a deal with Russian agricultural trading company- Russkiy

Kampala – Uganda Coffee Development Authority [UCDA] has signed a deal with a Russian agricultural trading company Russkiy to start producing instant Coffee.

In collaboration with the Ugandan Embassy in Moscow, officials from Uganda Coffee Development Authority held a series of meetings to concretize arrangements to kick start the project.

Uganda’s Ambassador to the Russian federation, Johnson Olwa told coffee exporters in Kampala that it is an opportunity for them to increase their coffee sales.

“We have a partner whose big supply chain for coffee is an opportunity for us. They collect from several coffee-producing nations with several middle parties, they now want to buy directly from Ugandan producers and exporters,” said Olwa while addressing Ugandan exporters.

Russkiy Produkt located in the heart of the Capital Moscow deals in beverages with another distributor in Kaluga City.

David Katungi, the Director for Strategy at Uganda Coffee Development Authority pledged total commitment to coffee production and export through the national road map which is projected to hit a target of 20 million [60kg bags] of coffee by 2025.

“We want to assure you that we have the coffee and we have plans to produce even more. Your choice to do business with Uganda is the right decision. We assure you of volumes and quality,” he said.

The Authority is charged with the responsibility to facilitate engagements that would promote coffee in terms of production, processing, marketing, and all other functions.

In a ten-year development plan, the authority plans to have a series of value chain opportunities including a soluble coffee plant, a roasting plant, and other value addition opportunities.

Alexsei Pashkiv, co-director of Russkiy Produkt, revealed that the company plans to have a long-term purchasing arrangement for Robusta coffee to produce instant coffee in Russia.

“The Russian market consumes instant coffee. Although Russia has traditionally been a tea-drinking country, the coffee market is increasing,” Pashkiv said.

He added that apparently, they are looking at procuring good suppliers of green coffee for instant coffee production in large volumes.

The Company has already set up the required quality specifications that would be monitored through the regulator, including the organoleptic and physicochemical properties, safety parameters, packaging, storage, and transportation as well as labeling.