Overview:
According to the report, this increase was majorly attributed to higher export earnings from gold, tobacco, maize, simsim, tea, fish and its products, hides and skins, electricity, oil re-exports and others.
Uganda exported merchandise worth $688.69 million (Shs2.592 trillion in October 2023, representing an increase of 8.96% in comparison to $632.06 million (Shs2.381 trillion) exported in September 2023.
This is contained in the Performance of the Economy Report for November 2023 released by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development on Monday, December 18, 2023.
According to the report, this increase was majorly attributed to higher export earnings from gold, tobacco, maize, simsim, tea, fish and its products, hides and skins, electricity, oil re-exports and others.
In comparison to 2023, merchandise exports grew by 96.65% from USD 350.22 million in October 2022 to USD 688.69 million in October 2023.
This was attributed to increased export earnings from gold, maize, tobacco among others.
Coffee exports during the month of October 2023 amounted to USD 78.96 million, a 16.34% decrease from USD 94.39 million registered in September 2023.
This decrease was mainly due to lower yields that were characterized by drought in most regions across the country. In comparison with the same month last year coffee exports grew by 17% from USD 67.10 million in October 2022, to USD 78.96 million in October 2023. This was majorly on account of an increase in the average unit price per kilo from $2.45 in October 2022 to $2.80 in October 2023.
The value of merchandise imports decreased by 5.0% from USD 925.58 million in September 2023 to USD 879.27 million in October 2023. This decrease was largely attributed to lower private sector imports, particularly petroleum products, machinery equipment, vehicles and accessories, base metals and their products, mineral products, textile and textile products and miscellaneous manufactured articles. Comparison with the same month last year shows that merchandise imports grew by 34% from USD 655.88 million in October 2022, to USD 879.27 million in October 2023. This increase was mainly driven by higher import volumes for mineral products, petroleum products, machinery equipments, vehicles & accessories and vegetable products, animal, beverages, fats & oils among others.
During October 2023, Uganda’s trade deficit with the rest of the world narrowed both on a monthly and annual basis. Between September and October 2023, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed by 35.1% from USD 293.52 million to USD 190.58 million owing to a decrease in the import bill and an increase in export receipts. Year-on-year comparison shows that the merchandise trade deficit narrowed by 37.5% from USD 304.89 million in October 2022 to USD 190 million in October 2023 on account of an increase in export receipts which offset the increase in import receipts.
In October 2023, the EAC remained the top destination of Uganda’s exports, accounting for 41% of our total exports. Within the EAC region, the top three destinations for Uganda’s exports were Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan taking up 27.2%, 21.9% and 19.7% of the total exports to the region respectively. The Middle East and Asia emerged as the second and third largest destinations for Uganda’s exports, accounting for 26.8% and 16.4% respectively.