Uganda’s sugar exports have increased

Uganda’s sugar exports have increased after a huge drop in July. However, this shipment of sugar is only a fraction of the volumes going out to south Sudan, Kenya and Rwanda. According to the Bank of Uganda, the country’s sugar export volumes dropped to 16,000 tonnes in July; down from over 27,000 tonnes in June. Sugarcane trucks at factories But factories find they’re struggling to get hold of the supplies of sugarcane they usually need. “The economy has opened, and consumption has gone high but the supply of sugarcane is less because people did not plant in 2020, 2019 and 2021. It is a perennial crop, which takes 16-18 months. It takes time.” Robert Olego, Senior Manager Outgrowers, Sugar Corporation Uganda Limited said Fluctuating prices, mounting expenses and even debts have also forced sugarcane farmers to abandon their farms. Muyimba Yawe is one of the few in the Busoga region in the central part of Uganda that is still in the plantations. He said, “When the prices kept ...