Uganda increased by 7% its projection coffee production for 2012/13 crop

The state agency Development Authority Uganda Coffee rose 7% on Friday the projection of the country's production in marketing year 2012/13, which ends in September, citing favourable weather conditions in the growing areas of the country, said the manager responsible for the quality strategy and business development agency, Norman Mutekanga.
The expectation now is that the Ugandan coffee crop reaches at least 3.2 million bags of 60 pounds, compared to the previous forecast of 3 million bags, due to good rainfall distribution, said Norman Mutekanga. "We found higher yields than expected in the eastern and central regions, and even intermediate harvest coffee in the west, which is usually small, it was amazing," he said.
The latest projection is much higher than the production of 2.73 million bags obtained in the 2011/12 cycle. The East African nation continues to encourage increased productivity to increase foreign sales. Coffee is the main export of the country, and the second largest source of revenue after tourism.
Coffee exports from Uganda have increased 76% in April compared to the same month last year, pointed out the authority. According to UCDA, a total of 248,749 bags of 60 pounds was exported last month, up from 141,220 bags of April 2012. The result lifted Ugandan coffee exports in seven months of the current season to 1.89 million bags. In the same period of 2011/12, shipments reached 1.48 million bags.
Source: Dow Jones