Uganda takes coffee consumption drive to Ankara

Ugandan officials in Ankara have urged the business community and Ugandans in Turkey to consider investing in Uganda, arguing that the East African nation which recently celebrated 60 years of Independence is a good place for business.

“Uganda is not only a good place to do business but one in which an investor will get the highest return on their investment,” Uganda's ambassador-designate to Turkey, Nusura Tiperu Omar told members of the Turkish business community and Ugandans who had gathered at Walker's Coffee House in Ankara for coffee cupping/ tasting as part of the officials’ efforts to promote Uganda’s coffee industry aimed at making a mark in the global market.

Uganda’s coffee exports to Turkey currently stand at 3,000 bags monthly, according to government.

The Sunday event’ organized in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the activities the embassy undertook to commemorate Uganda's 60th independence anniversary and its purpose, Ugandan officials said, was to increase and promote awareness about the country’s  coffee among the Turkish importers and consumers. 
Coffee cupping or cup tasting is how coffee is tasted by producers and buyers around the world to check the quality of a batch of coffee. In cupping, coffees are scored for aspects such as cleanness, sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel and after taste.

Ms Tiperu observed that coffee is one of Uganda’s main cash crops and the biggest foreign exchange earners, being among the top five products exported from the country. Coffee accounts for about 13-15 percent of total export earnings and is the second highest forex earner for the East African nation.
According to her, the mandate to promote economic and commercial diplomacy requires the embassy to ensure that Ugandan products are promoted, tangibly and stocked on the shelves of stores in the Middle East country and Ugandan coffee served in numerous Turkish restaurants and cities of Istanbul, Antalya, Ismir and Bursa, among others.
Uganda is also the leading producer of Robusta and second largest producer of Arabica coffee, after Ethiopia, in Africa. 
According to Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) which was part of the organisers of the event, Uganda grows two types of coffee; Robusta and Arabica in the ratio of 4:1. 

However, variety of Wild Robusta Coffee still growing today in Uganda’s rain forests is thought to be one of the rarest examples of naturally occurring coffee trees anywhere in the world.
The country’s current coffee production stands at 8 million 60kg bags while exports stand at 6.08 million 60kg bags for the year ended 2020.