Who we are
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) is a government agency that was established by an Act of Parliament - UCDA Act, 1991 - which was amended in 1994, Cap. 325, and repealed and replaced by the National Coffee Act No. 17 of 2021.
The Authority is governed by a Board of Directors which oversees the conduct of business and supervision of the UCDA management. The UCDA management is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Authority.
Vision: An Inclusive, Transformative and Sustainable Coffee Industry
Mission: To increase quality coffee production, productivity, value addition, marketing and consumption.
Areas of Focus
The Authority’s focus is to facilitate increase in quality coffee production, productivity, and consumption working with stakeholders who include; Farmers, nursery operators, processors, exporters and Coffee traders. UCDA is mainly a service provider and the services availed to its stakeholders include;
• Provision of clean planting materials
• Farmer, barista, processor and roaster trainings
• Market research and Information dissemination to stakeholders
• Quality improvement and enforcement
• Support to coffee research
• Promote domestic consumption of coffee
Our Scope
The Authority offers a broad range of coffee development services to 117 coffee growing districts structured into ten geographical regions: Central, Greater Masaka, Western, Rwenzori, South Western, Kigezi, Elgon, Eastern, Mid-North, and West Nile targeting 1.8 million households.
Our Products and Services
Coffee Development Services aims at increasing coffee production through generation of clean planting material, promotion of the re-planting program and yield improvements of existing old coffee trees, enhance use of Good Agricultural Practices, support to management of pest and diseases and use of agro-inputs and promote coffee growing in new areas, especially in Mid-Northern Uganda.
Quality Assurance and Regulation services aims at improving quality at all stages of the coffee value chain. This include quality improvement and assurance, training and skills development of the industry stakeholders;
• Issuance of certificates for the grade and quantity of coffee,
• Licensing of coffee roasters, processors and exporters,
• Certification of coffee exports
• Training on barista skills, Good Post-harvest Handling hygiene practices
• Basic Quality Control training
• Train and certify Q and R graders
• Development of Coffee Profiles
Value Addition Services include:
• Technical extension and demonstrations
• Processing standards and capacity building industry stakeholders
• Develop the coffee roasting industry
• Support production and certification schemes for sustainable, fine and specialty coffee
• Traceability of coffee
• Quality Control related research
• Promote technological design and trials as well as introduce improved processing technologies
Generic Promotion services
• Showcasing Ugandan Coffee in International Events and Specialty Coffee Associations Exhibitions
• Facilitating Business to Business Meetings
• Showcasing Ugandan Coffee in local trade fairs and exhibitions
• Promotion of Domestic Consumption thorough Coffee on the road Shows, Barista Championships and Taste of Harvest Competitions.
Market Research and Development Services:
UCDA undertakes market research both on the local market and the global market availing her stakeholders with information both on a daily and monthly basis through production of both daily and monthly market reports. Market Research and Development services aim at increasing coffee sector player’s access to market information and to increase volumes of coffee exported to new markets
Who we Target
Our services is accessed by farmers, processors, roasters, exporters, traders, students, coffee consumers, agro-input dealers, government and Civil Society Organizations
Number of Coffee Growing Districts
• 126 Districts, 88 Robusta only, 15 Arabica only and 9 districts grow both Robusta and Arabica
• 1.8 million households grow Coffee
Plant Population
• Robust, 1100/ha OR 450/acre
• Arabica, 1640/ha OR 640/acre
• Avg. coffee farm size: 0.18 hectares or 0.45 acres
Coffee Trees under Production
• 330 million trees (Robusta, 240,000; Arabica, 40,244)
• Annual production: ~282,000 tons (8th globally)
Seedling/Plantlet Costs
• Elite Seedlings, UGX 350
• Clonal cuttings, UGX 1500
• Coffee Wilt Disease Resistant (CWDr) Cuttings using Tissue Culture, UGX 2,000
Coffee Spacing
• Robusta, 3 m x 3 m OR 10 ft x 10 ft
• Arabica, 2.4 m x 2.4 m OR 8 ft x 8 ft
Plant Holes
• Robusta or Arabica, 2ft wide X 2ft long by 2ft deep
Shade Trees
• Permanent Shade tree spacing 15 m to 40 m depending on which variety
Cost of Establishing a Nursery Bed
• 50,000 Capacity: UGX 30 million (unit cost for a cutting, 587/=)
Cost of Establishing a Coffee Garden Acre
• Robusta in first 2 years, UGX 4.7 million; in 6 years: UGX 12.2 million
• Arabica in first 2 years, UGX 5.4 million; In 6 years: UGX 13.30 million
Gross Income Cost of Establishing a Coffee Garden Acre
• Robusta in first 2 years, UGX (-2.9 million); in 6 years: UGX 11.8. million
• Arabica (with Beans & Bananas) in first 2 years, UGX 4.3 million; In 6 years: UGX 20.7 million
Cost of Rehabilitating a Coffee Garden Acre
• Robusta in first 2 years, UGX 1.85 million; in 6 years: UGX 5.2 million
• Arabica in first 2 years, UGX 2.16 million; In 6 years: UGX 7.0 million
Gross Income from Rehabilitated Coffee Garden Acre
• Robusta in first 2 years, UGX 3.5 million; in 6 years: UGX 13
• Arabica in first 2 years, UGX 2.8 million; In 6 years: UGX 10.4 million
Yield per tree/hectare by coffee type (Green coffee)
• Robusta - 0.55kg to 1.1kg/tree (600kg/ha to 1,200kg/ha)
• Arabica – 0.31kg/tree to 1kg/tree (500kg/ha to 1,600kg/ha)
Water Requirement (Irrigation per tree/Ha)
• 1,650 liters per tree per hectare during the dry season (1.65 cubic meters of water)
• 1,1,815 cubic meters of water per hectare during dry season
Fertilizer Requirement/Cost
• Robusta – 562.5kg/hectare/year = UGX 2,250,000/=
• Arabica – 750kg/hectare/year = UGX 3,000,000/=
• Farmyard Manure, 10kg per tree each 2 years, 1 Trip (3 tons) = UGX 200,000/=
• Organic fertilizer application rate =1kg/tree
- Robusta 450kg/ acre =1,620,000/=
- Arabica 640kg/acre = 2,304,000/=
Coffee Trees and Production
• 1 billion trees (in Production 710 million, immature 300 million)
• Annual production: ~504,000 tons (8th globally)
Domestic Consumption
• 532,800 (60 kg Bags)
• Per capita consumption, 0.8 kg
Roasters
• 23 Roasters
• 20 Ugandan coffee brands on the supermarket shelves
• The cost of roasting coffee per kilo is UGX 2,500
Exporters Coffee Year 2021/22
• 112 registered export companies
• 34 Export Grading Plants
• 912 Hullers
• 923 buying stores
• 10,000 middlemen (small traders, medium and large)
• 12.2 % of Uganda’s exports are verified or certified “sustainable” above the global average of 8%.
• Farmer receives ~70% (Robusta) and 80% (Arabica) of export (FOB) price.
• 22% of commodity export earnings derived from coffee (2022)
• Coffee represents less than 20% of the average family plot, but provides over 50% of cash income in an average year.
• Uganda accounts for 5.1% of global coffee production
• Uganda accounts for 5.3% of global coffee exports
Transportation Cost
• The cost of transporting coffee from Kampala to Mombasa UGX 5million (UGX 320/kg) Or US$ 1200 (0.09/kg).
• A 20 ft. container loads 350-360 ,60-kilo bags
Insurance Cost
• Insurance cost to Mombasa is US$ 500 per 19.2 MT Container
Global Coffee Facts
• Global Production, 175.53 million bags in crop year 2020/21
• Global Consumption, 166.63 million bags in 2020/21
• Global Coffee export value was US$ 36.3billion in 2021
• Global Coffee Income about US$ 200 billion in 2020
• Global revenue for hot drinks amounted to $672.4 billion USD out of which US $433.6 billion that is 65% was for coffee in 2022
Contacts and Addresses Coffee House
Plot 35 Jinja Road
P.O Box 7267, Kampala
Tel: +256-414-233073; +256-0312-260470/1
Email: info@ugandacoffe.go.ug
Website: www.ugandacoffee.go.ug