Kampala - Uganda expects its coffee exports to fall 30 percent to 250 000 60kg bags in February compared with the same month in 2014 due to dry weather, an industry source said on Wednesday.
Uganda is Africa's second largest coffee producer after Ethiopia and the continent's leading exporter, and coffee shipments is one of its largest sources of foreign exchange.
The source at the state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said harvesting in the central and eastern regions - the major harvesting areas - was at its tail end and the dry weather had affected the crop.
The two areas account for 55 percent of Uganda's annual coffee production while the rest from south and southwest.
The source also said exports fell to 310 829 60kg bags of in January, down from 391 514 bags in the same month last year.
“Dry conditions adversely affected trees and caused significant berry abortion. This ultimately impacted crop yields in the areas under harvest,” the source said.
Reuters