Uganda's exports of Arabica coffee surged 35 percent in the first two months of the 2010/11 coffee season due to higher prices, the state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said on Tuesday. The east African country is ranked among the continent's three largest exporters of coffee and their earnings constitute a major source of foreign exchange.
According to UCDA's November performance report seen by Reuters on Tuesday, good prices for Arabica spurred farmers to release larger volumes of their stocks. Shipments of Arabica beans totalled 135,749 60-kg bags in October and November compared with 100,807 bags exported in the same months in the 2009/10 coffee year.
"The rise in Arabica is ascribed to the remunerative prices that have prompted farmers to frontload whatever was in their possession," the report said. Arabica prices, according to the report, averaged $3.2 per kg in November, having edged up gradually from $2.59 in July.
In contrast, UCDA said Robusta exports "continued to exhibit a gradual negative trend on account of weather and outbreaks of pests."Mealy bugs, twig borers and caterpillars have ravaged coffee trees, mainly in eastern Uganda. The region is at the peak of harvest. Uganda is forecast to export a total of 3.1 million bags in the 2010/11 coffee year.
Prices for Robusta averaged $1.51 per kg in November, maintaining nearly the same levels over the last three months, according to the report. UCDA forecasts bean shipments in December will rise 4.5 percent compared with the same month a year ago.
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