Uganda’s Export Earnings Hit Record Shs54 Trillion -Ggoobi

Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi has said Uganda’s export earnings have climbed to a record $14.4 billion (Shs 54 Trillion) by the end of September, driven largely by strong growth in gold, coffee and manufactured goods, reflecting the impact of long-term government policies aimed at diversifying the economy.

Ggoobi said the export performance marked a significant shift from Uganda’s historical dependence on a narrow range of primary commodities, noting that deliberate policy choices taken years ago were now yielding results.

“The results and the harvest we are having now were planted many years ago. We made a deliberate decision to diversify exports and not rely on particular commodities,” Ggoobi said.

He said Uganda has added 34 new products to its export basket over the past 15 years, expanding beyond traditional exports such as coffee, cotton and tea into manufactured and value-added goods.

Coffee remains one of the country’s top foreign exchange earners, ranking second after gold. Ggoobi said coffee exports generated about $2.2 billion last year, the highest earnings Uganda has ever recorded from the crop, up from about $800 million in previous years.

He attributed the growth to a combination of favourable global prices and increased domestic production, supported by government interventions such as Operation Wealth Creation, which distributed coffee seedlings to farmers starting around 2016.

“Coffee has started to come into our numbers,” he said.

Gold has emerged as Uganda’s leading export, generating nearly $5 billion annually, largely due to the country’s role as a regional refining hub.

Ggoobi said Uganda imports gold from neighbouring countries, including Tanzania, refines it locally and re-exports it, earning valuable foreign exchange in the process.

“We refine gold. Gold comes from all over the region, plus our own gold,” he said while appearing on NBS Morning Breeze.

He defended the government’s decision to keep gold export taxes low, amid past debates in Parliament over proposals to impose heavier levies. Uganda currently charges $200 per kilogram on gold exports.

“Some policymakers were making a fundamental mistake. If we had overtaxed gold, these refineries would be empty today,” Ggoobi said, adding that the government prioritised foreign exchange inflows over higher export taxes.

“We are not looking at the levies. We are looking at the foreign exchange. This money comes back here in dollars,” he said.

Ggoobi also credited Uganda’s liberalised capital account for supporting export growth by allowing investors to freely bring in capital, conduct business and repatriate profits, provided taxes are paid and transactions are legitimate.

Beyond gold and coffee, he said Uganda has expanded exports of manufactured goods such as tiles, televisions and toiletries, driven by investments in industrial parks across the country.

“Uganda is exporting goods you could never have imagined before,” he said, describing the shift as a sign of growing “economic complexity”.

He stressed that sustainable economic development requires moving beyond raw material exports to value addition and manufacturing.

“You can’t develop an economy by just producing more of the same,” Ggoobi said.

He added that government is working to formalise artisanal and small-scale gold mining, with the central bank now purchasing gold directly from artisanal miners to improve traceability and reduce informality in the sector.

Ggoobi said he had visited mining areas in Mubende and Kasanda, where he observed the rudimentary methods used by miners, and pledged government support to improve standards and productivity.

“This is not accidental,” he said of the export growth. “It is the result of policy choices, discipline and long-term investment.”