Local coffee consumption promising - Dutch envoy

What you need to know:

Intention. Government plans to boost annual output to 20m bags by 2020 by planting 900m trees in three years.

Kampala.

Much as Ugandans consume only 3 per cent of the locally produced coffee, there is much hope that domestic consumption is set to rise given the level of interest and enthusiasm exhibited by investors through venturing into coffee shops (bars), the ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands, Henk Jan Bakker, has observed.

The envoy noted that since the coffee subsector is taking significant strides in attracting businesses that target the end users, it means more people are willing to pay for a cup of coffee and if that trend is supported, it will encourage local coffee primary production, processing and eventually boost productivity.

“One of the things that struck me when I arrived in Uganda recently was the popularity of the coffee bars like Good African Coffee, Café Javas, Cafesserie and many others that appeal the product that they serve like cappuccinos, espressos, lattes with all kinds flavours,” he said.

Speaking during the 2nd Annual National Coffee Festival held at Mandela National Stadium last week, Mr Bakker noted that growing the coffee sub-sector requires encouraging more people to consume coffee domestically and have a mindset change into embracing agricultural value chain.

Coffee has contributed between 18-20 per cent of the foreign exchange earnings of Uganda for the last ten years. However, the volume of coffee produced in 2014/15 financial year decreased from 3.7 million 60kg bags worth $425.4m (Shs1.48 trillion) in financial year 2013/14 to 3.24 million 60kg bags worth $410m (Shs1.43 trillion).

In a speech read by the Kampala minister Betty Kamya, Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda reiterated government’s commitment in boosting coffee production and export through supporting value chain systems and also said government would fast track the coffee law.