That dollar amount reflects a 76.9% increase from $3.56 billion five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the value of Ugandan exports accelerated by 76.2% compared to $3.58 billion starting from 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Ugandan shilling depreciated by -0.6% against the US dollar since 2019 and diluted by -1% from 2022 to 2023. Uganda’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Uganda’s Top Trade Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 83.6% of products exported from Uganda was bought by importers in: United Arab Emirates (21.7% of the Ugandan total), Kenya (11.7%), India (11.6%), South Sudan (8.5%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.5%), Hong Kong (5.1%), Rwanda (4.4%), Italy (4.1%), Germany (3.4%), Tanzania (2.7%), Netherlands (2%) and Sudan (1.8%).
From a continental perspective, 43.5% of Uganda’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 40.1% was sold to importers in Africa. Uganda shipped another 14.6% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (1.7%), Australia and New Zealand in Oceania (0.1%), then Latin America (0.01%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Uganda’s population of 45.1 million people, its total $6.31 billion in 2023 exports translates to approximately $140 for every resident in the central eastern African country. That dollar metric greatly exceeds the average $50 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Uganda’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Ugandan global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Uganda.
- Gems, precious metals: US$2.2 billion (35.4% of total exports)
- Coffee, spices: $1.1 billion (17%)
- Cereals: $189 million (3%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $186.8 million (3%)
- Ceramic products: $183.3 million (2.9%)
- Iron, steel: $153.9 million (2.4%)
- Cocoa: $141.4 million (2.2%)
- Fish: $134 million (2.1%)
- Wood: $134 million (2.1%)
- Milling products, malt, starches: $130.8 million (2.1%)
Uganda’s top 10 exports approached three-quarters (72.2%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Gems and precious metals was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 256,019% from 2022 to 2023. That acceleration was propelled by strong international sales of Ugandan gold.
In second place for improving export sales was ceramic products via a 372% advance.
Uganda’s shipments of cereals posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 125.1%, due in part to increases in Ugandan corn exports.
The leading decliner among Uganda’s top 10 export categories was fish, pulled down by a -8.2% year-over-year drop.
From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, unwrought gold represents Uganda ’s most valuable exported product at 35.3% of the country’s total. In second place was coffee (15.1%) trailed by ceramic flags, tiles and cubes (2.8%), cocoa beans (2.2%), processed petroleum oils (2.2%), corn (also 2.2%), hydraulic cements (1.5%), tea (1.3%), fish fillets and pieces (1.3%) then sugar (also 1.3%).
Products Generating Uganda’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Ugandan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Coffee, spices: US$1.1 billion (Up by 9.3% since 2022)
- Gems, precious metals: $326.2 million (Reversing a -$202.1 million deficit)
- Cocoa: $137 million (Up by 73.1%)
- Wood: $127 million (Up by 31.6%)
- Ceramic products: $125.9 million (Reversing a -$9.9 million deficit)
- Fish: $123.6 million (Down by -13.2%)
- Milling products, malt, starches: $122.5 million (Up by 6.7%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $92.3 million (Down by -17.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $86.2 million (Up by 24.9%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $69 million (Up by 41.6%)
Uganda has highly positive net exports in the international trade of coffee and spices, notably vanilla. In turn, these cashflows indicate Uganda’s strong competitive advantages under the coffee and spices product category.
Products Causing Uganda’s Worst Trade Deficits
Uganda incurred an overall -US$5.5 billion trade deficit for 2023. That dollar amount results from an -11.3% reduction from -$6.2 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Uganda that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Uganda’s goods trail Ugandan importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.9 billion (Up by 1.9% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$855.4 million (Up by 23.7%)
- Vehicles: -$760.9 million (Up by 32.1%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$518.7 million (Up by 11.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$497.5 million (Down by -8.8%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$471.9 million (Down by -12%)
- Iron, steel: -$373.2 million (Down by -27.3%)
- Other chemical goods: -$248.3 million (Down by -11.2%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$234 million (Down by -16.7%)
- Cereals: -$213.9 million (Down by -37.5%)
Uganda has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels including oil notably for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gas, coal and petroleum jelly.
Ugandan Export Companies
Not one Ugandan corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists international exports-related companies from Uganda. Selected examples are shown below.
- Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (pharmaceuticals)
- Kakira Sugar Works (sugar)
- Kinyara Sugar Works Limited (sugar)
- Kyagalanyi Coffee Limited (coffee)
- Sango Bay Estates Limited (sugar)
- Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (sugar)
- Uganda Air Cargo (industrial transportation)
- Uganda Virus Research Institute (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology)
In macroeconomic terms, Uganda’s total exported goods represent 4.3% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($145.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4.3% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 1.7% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Uganda’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Uganda’s unemployment rate averaged 2.9% for 2023, same as an average 2.9% one year earlier according to Trading Economics metrics.
Uganda’s capital city is Kampala, a historical name that refers to “where the king goes hunting”.
See also Kenya’s Top 10 Exports, Togo’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports, Top African Export Countries and United States Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Uganda. Accessed on August 24, 2024
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Uganda. Accessed on August 24, 2024
Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 24, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on August 24, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 24, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 24, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on August 24, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Uganda. Accessed on August 24, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on August 24, 2024
Wikipedia, Uganda. Accessed on August 24, 2024