Uganda’s monthly commodity export earnings fall to Shs1.5t in June

Uganda’s foreign earnings from commodity exports in the international market fell in the month of June 2021 due to a decline in export receipts from some commodities.

In the monthly economic performance July report seen by Daily Monitor, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in comparison to the previous month said export receipts declined by 3.9 per cent from $469.98 million (Shs1.661 trillion in May 2021 to $451.72 million (Shs1.597 trillion) in June 2021.

“This performance was attributed to lower export receipts of commodities like mineral products, tea, tobacco and maize,” said the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Relatedly, this was mainly on account of an increase in the value of exports of coffee, minerals, cotton, tea, tobacco, simsim, beans and flowers during the period.

However, on the other hand, the Ministry of Finance, said Informal Cross Border Trade (ICBT) exports increased to $40.5 million (Shs143.184 billion) in June 2021, up from $38.8 million (Shs137.174 billion) in May 2021.

This was attributed to an increase in the value of exports of coffee, minerals, cotton, tea, tobacco, simsim, beans and flowers during this period.

On an annual basis, export receipts improved by 33.6 per cent from $338.06 million (Shs1.195 trillion) in June 2020 to $451.72 million (Shs1.597 trillion) in June 2021.

The ICBT exports increased from $1.23 million (Shs4.348 billion) in June 2020 to $ 40.49 million (Shs143.149 billion) in June 2021 largely due to higher exports to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In the past 4 months, Uganda’s exports to DRC have surged partly due to accelerated efforts towards improving access to the DRC market.

In June 2021, the Middle East was the leading destination for Uganda’s exports making up for 37.7 percent of total exports.

The report further reveals that EAC and the Rest of Africa were the second and third largest end points for Ugandan exports during June 2021.

The share of exports to the EAC and the Rest of Africa increased to 26.0 percent and 15.9 percent from 23.7 percent and 10.0 percent, respectively with that change attributed to benefits of regional integration.

On an annual basis, the value of imports increased by 72.1 percent to $933.6 million (Shs3.300 trillion) in June 2021 from $542.6 million (Shs1.918 trillion) in June 2020. This was attributed to a 68.2 percent increase in private sector imports to $877.8 million (Shs3.103 trillion). At the same time, government imports during the month rose by 169.8 percent to $55.8 million (Shs197.276 billion).

 There was an increase in imports of vegetable products, beverages, fats & oil; chemical & related products; machinery, equipment, vehicles &accessories; plastics, rubber & related products; and petroleum products. Most of the private sector imports (apart from vegetable products, beverages, fats & oil) are investment input goods.

Compared to May 2021, the import bill increased by 19.8 percent from $779.3 million (Shs2.755 trillion) to $933.6 million (Shs3.300 trillion) in June 2021. This performance was attributed to higher private sector imports (up by 28.5 percent).

The general increase in imports during June 2021 is due to improved import trade logistics compared to June 2020 when the global economy was under lockdown with supply chains severely disrupted.

Asia remained Uganda’s main source of imports, with a share of 34.4 percent, followed by Rest of Africa and EAC at 25.5 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively. Imports from Asia were mainly from China (38.1 percent), India (31.4 percent) and Japan (9.5 percent).

Within the EAC region, Tanzania and Kenya were the largest sources of imports, accounting for 59.8 percent and 39.8 percent, respectively.

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