Uganda exported merchandise worth $371.81 million in December 2022, indicating an increase of 10.7 percent from $335.77 million registered the month before, helping the government to raise funds to cater for the needs of citizens.
The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development said in the performance of the economy monthly report of January 2023 released on February 21 that the growth was attributed to increased receipts for maize and mineral products, among others.
The Ministry of Finance said during the month of December 2022, maize exports increased from $4.34 million in November 2022 to $20.48 million in December 2022.
The rise was partly due to the onset of the maize harvesting season as well as the heightened demand for Uganda’s maize by the neighboring countries.
However, the ministry revealed that there was a 7.2 percent decline in the value of coffee export earnings from $64.14 million in November 2022 to $59.54 million in December 2022.
This was mainly attributed to lower export volumes as a result of dry weather conditions from April to August 2022 in most parts of the country’s coffee-producing regions, which led to lower yields.
The ministry of Finance said in comparison to December 2021, export earnings increased from $323.96 million to $371.81 million representing a 15.1 percent growth.
This growth was on account of increased earnings from commodities such as maize, mineral products, beans among others.
Destination of Exports
The EAC remained the major destination for Uganda’s exports accounting for $227.08 million (61.1 percent) of the total exports during the month. In particular, Kenya ($71.19 million), D.R.C. ($57.01 million) and South Sudan ($50.98 million) received 78.9% of the total exports to the EAC.
The European Union was the second major destination for our exports accounting for 15.3 percent, followed by the Middle East at 6.9 percent.
“At country specific level, 45.8 percent of the exports to the EU went to Italy and 17.5 percent to Germany. It is worth noting that in December 2022, Italy maintained the highest market share for Uganda’s coffee, followed by Sudan and Germany,” the ministry’s report indicates.
Nonetheless Uganda continues to import more than it exports, the Ministry of Finance said the value of merchandise imports increased by 4.9 percent to $666.71 million in December 2022 from $635.60 million in November 2022.
This growth was mainly attributed to the higher volumes of private sector goods imported. In particular, the private sector imports which had the largest increases were mineral products; textile and textile products; wood and wood products; and chemical and related products.
In comparison to the same month last year, imports grew by 8.1 percent from $616.71 million in December 2021 to $666.71 million in December 2022.
The Ministry said this was mainly driven by increased import volumes for petroleum products, machinery equipment, vehicles & accessories over the period.
Trade Balance with EAC
Uganda traded at a surplus of $136.43 million with the rest of the EAC Partner States in December 2022.
This was a decline from the $143.11 million surplus registered the previous month mainly due to an increase in imports from Tanzania and a reduction in exports to South Sudan. With the exception of Tanzania, Uganda registered surpluses with the rest of the EAC Partner States.
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