Glitches in Uganda’s coffee journey towards meeting Europe demands

Business reporter in Kampala, Uganda

Nation Media Group

A major funding deficit and listing of coffee farmers on a national register have stood out in Uganda’s quest to comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) ahead of the December 31, 2025 deadline.

The EUDR compliance regime requires commodity exporters to the European Union (EU) market to provide details on the impact of production on forest cover and plans for restoration of lost trees in farming and mining zones.

“We have covered about 70 percent of the coffee industry value chain so far regarding EUDR compliance. Government’s previous estimates indicated there were 1.7 million coffee farmers in Uganda, but we realised there are five million today. The minimum cost of EUDR compliance per farmer is $5, which would translate into $25 million for the coffee value chain alone. ABI Trust has provided $4 million so far. Finding the balance required to complete the compliance journey is a challenge that could be better shouldered by the private sector compared to the government. Though the Uganda Coffee Development Authority was dissolved by the government last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has proved cohesive towards the compliance implementation process. Other potential sources of funding for Uganda’s EUDR compliance activities include the EU, which has provided around 70,000 euros for such activities,” said Robert Byaruhanga, chairman of Uganda Coffee Exporters Association.

Glitches in Uganda’s coffee journey towards meeting Europe demands

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