KAMPALA, July 22, 2026 — Year on year, Uganda’s merchandise exports grew by 12.8 percent from US$ 1.2 billion in May 2025 to US$ 1.34bln in May 2026, according to the Performance of the Economy Monthly Report June 2026.
The report released by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development [MOFPED] states: “This growth was primarily driven by higher earnings from gold, tobacco, oil re-exports and electricity over this period.”
Gold
The report states that earnings from gold exports increased by 67.7 percent, from US$ 485.83mln in May 2025 to US$ 814.78mln in May 2026. This was due to a combination of higher export volumes and surging global gold prices during the period.
Coffee
Earnings from coffee exports declined from US$ 243.95mln in May 2025 to US$ 151.70mln in May 2026.
“The decline was on account of reductions in both the volumes of coffee exports and the global coffee prices for the period under review, driven by the saturated global coffee market following increased harvests from other major producing nations,” says the report.
The report shows coffee export volumes dropped to 617,491 60-kg bags in May 2026, compared to 793,445 60-kg bags in the same month the previous year, while coffee prices averaged US$ 4.09 per Kilo in May 2026 compared to US$ 5.12 per Kilo in the same month of the previous year.
Cumulatively, for the financial year 2025/26, merchandise export receipts for the period July 2025 to May 2026 totalled US$ 14,467.39mln, a 34.4 percent increase compared to US$ 10,761.63mln recorded during the same period of FY2024/25. This was mainly due to the strong performance of coffee and gold exports during FY2025/26.
Compared to April 2026 [month-on-month], the value of merchandise exports dropped by 4.2 percent [US$ 59.01mln] from US$ 1,405.14mln to US$ 1,346.12mln in May 2026. This reduction was mainly on account of the decline in coffee and gold exports during the month.
Destination of exports
The Middle East remained Uganda’s largest export destination in May 2026, accounting for 49.4 percent of the total export earnings during the month, says the report.
“Within this region, the United Arab Emirates [UAE] took up the largest share of exports to the region. Other key trading blocs during the month were the East African Community [EAC] and Asia, which absorbed 21.1 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, of Uganda’s total exports during the month.”
Of the total exports to the EAC [US$ 284.32mln] during May 2026, 24.5 percent were through informal cross-border trade [ICBT], largely comprising agricultural commodities and industrial products.
Uganda’s imports
Comparison with the same month of the previous year shows that the import bill grew by 12.5 percent from US$ 1.30bln in May 2025 to US$ 1.461bln in May 2026, mainly on account of the increase in formal private sector imports over the period. The major drivers of this increase were machinery and equipment, vehicles, gold, petroleum products, plastics, rubber, among others.
Cumulatively, for FY2025/26, Uganda’s import bill for the period July 2025 to May 2026 amounted to US$ 15.918bln, a 20.4 percent increase compared to US$ 13.226bln for the same period of FY2024/25. The increase was on account of growth in both the volumes and prices of imports over the period, states the report.
On the other hand, month-on-month comparison shows that the import bill dropped by 3.2 percent from US$ 1.51bln in April 2026 to US$ 1.46bln in May 2026. This decline was mainly on account of a reduction in formal private sector imports during the month, specifically gold, base metals, machinery and equipment, and vehicles, as both volumes and values reduced between the two months.
Origin of Uganda’s imports
During May 2026, the EAC trading bloc remained Uganda’s largest source of merchandise imports, accounting for 45.2 percent of the total imports during the month. This was followed by Asia [35.6 percent] and the European Union [9.3 percent]. At the country level, the largest shares of Uganda’s imports during the month came from Kenya, Tanzania, India and China.
Trade balance with EAC
During May 2026, Uganda recorded a trade deficit of US$ 376.87mln with the EAC Partner States, compared to US$ 112.75mln registered in May 2025.
“This was primarily on account of an increase in imports by 62.2 percent and a reduction in export receipts by 3.6 percent within the EAC Partner States,” says the report.
At the country level, Uganda recorded trade surpluses with the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Rwanda in May 2026, amounting to US$ 120.43mln, US$ 53.90mln and US$ 28.95mln, respectively.
Conversely, Uganda registered trade deficits with Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi valued at US$ 358.96mln, US$ 162.15mln and US$ 59.03mln, respectively. The persistent trade deficits with Kenya and Tanzania are largely attributed to the continued existence of non-tariff barriers, while the country continues to import substantial volumes of goods from both trading partners, says the report.
Going forward, the East African Community [EAC] Partner States have agreed to eliminate non-tariff barriers starting FY2026/27, with the aim of facilitating regional trade, improving market access and enhancing the free movement of goods across the region.
Trade balance by other regions
Uganda recorded a trade surplus with the Middle East and the Rest of Africa, while registering trade deficits with other trading blocs. The trade surplus with the Middle East amounted to US$ 582.90 million, while that with the Rest of Africa amounted to US$ 24.37mln during the month.
Uganda recorded trade deficits of US$ 307.19mln with Asia and US$ 25.00mln with the European Union during the month.
https://thecooperator.news/africas-coffee-exports-drop-24-1-percent-in-may-2026/
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