Ugandan cocoa exports projected to rise next year.
Uganda is projecting a 12 per cent jump in its cocoa exports in the 2011/2012 (Oct-Sep) season compared with the last season, as newly planted trees start producing beans, a senior government official has told Prosper.
Mr John Muwanga Musisi, the Co-ordinator Support for Tea/Cocoa Project in the Ministry of Agriculture, said production is expected to reach 18,000 metric tonnes, up from last year’s 16,478 metric tonnes, an improvement that should push earnings to $55 million (basing on next year’s projected prices) from $52.7 million realised this year.
"The rise in production and exports will mainly depend on an increase in planted area. More farmers have been planting cocoa trees and most of them are reaching maturation, so we anticipate this to positively impact this season’s exports," he said.
Uganda cocoa exports have grown from 6,000 metric tonnes in 2004/05 valued at $8.7 million to 16,478 metric tonnes in 2010/11 worth $52.72million. Mr Muwanga said earnings from cocoa bean exports have been sharply increasing due to improved crop productivity and better global prices.
"A comparison in the export competitiveness of different commodities in Uganda indicates that cocoa is not even comparable to coffee. Arabica coffee was trying to check on cocoa when its prices rose but it (Arabica coffee prices) eventually dropped. Cocoa prices are so good making it a commodity with high export value," Mr Muwanga said.
Currently, according to Mr Henry Lwanga, a cocoa farmer in Mukono district, local farm gate prices are also attractive, ranging between Shs3, 500 and 4,000 per kilogramme for conventional cocoa and Shs6, 000 per kilogramme for organic cocoa.
"But this depends on the quality and origin of the beans," Mr Lwanga said, adding, "Production has been too good this year because of good weather." Cocoa is one of Uganda’s major commodity exports and a significant source of foreign exchange, although its production is still low compared to other African countries that produce the crop.
Ivory Coast and Ghana are some of the leading cocoa producer on the continent. According to Mr Muwanga, the total area suitable for cocoa growing in Uganda is 92,000 hectares, while the total area under the crop currently is about 19,000 hectares, of those, about 18,000 hectares have been planted from 2001 to-date. Due to Uganda’s favourable climate, the country is planning to expand the cocoa growing hectares and also provides farmers with the required resources and technological knowledge in order to boost production levels from the current 16,478 metric tonnes to 50,000 metric tonnes targeted by 2016.
Experts say Uganda is at an advantage over the other countries simply because it is at a higher altitude of between 1,1000 and 1,300 metres above sea level compared with West Africa with an altitude of between 0 and 300 metres above sea level where humidity is high, attracting high infestations of diseases and pests. Cocoa was introduced in 1901 to reduce dependency on coffee as the main export for Uganda-to increase foreign exchange and eradicate household poverty.
Last year, according to International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) statistics, all cocoa producing countries including Uganda benefited from the recent chaos in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa bean producer, because the price per tonne shot to $3,700 from $3,000 worldwide. However, prices have slightly dropped due to rising production caused by good weather in all cocoa producing counties. Currently a tonne goes for between $2,617 and $3,000, which experts say is still high.
Credits: Joseph Miti/Daily Monitor
This article was originally posted on Africa Agribusiness Platform
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