Country Info: Uganda
Economic Background
Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, small deposits of copper, gold, and other minerals, and recently discovered oil. Uganda has never conducted a national minerals survey. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages.
The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings.
Since 1990 economic reforms ushered in an era of solid economic growth based on continued investment in infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, lower inflation, better domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs.
Uganda has received about $2 billion in multilateral and bilateral debt relief. In 2007 Uganda received $10 million for a Millennium Challenge Account Threshold Program.
The global economic downturn hurt Uganda's exports; however, Uganda's GDP growth has largely recovered due to past reforms and sound management of the downturn. Oil revenues and taxes will become a larger source of government funding as oil comes on line in the next few years. Rising food and fuel prices in 2011 led to protests.
Instability in South Sudan is a risk for the Ugandan economy because Uganda's main export partner is Sudan, and Uganda is a key destination for Sudanese refugees. Unreliable power, high energy costs, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and corruption inhibit economic development and investor confidence. (Source: World Factbook, 2013)
Selection of document downloads
AGOA 101 - Uganda Guide
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 6,000 products. This AGOA 101 manual outlines the step-by-step process that Ugandan businesses should take to export to the U.S. through AGOA. The guide provides additional information on the export of four high-demand, high-value sectors, namely coffee, cut flowers, fish, and textiles and apparel. Although exporting can be a challenging...
Report on competitive supply side analysis of CTA sectors in Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda 2011 (ACTIF-2011)
View related news articles
Uganda to work on increasing exports in wake of Covid-19 challenges
In the wake of COVID-19 and its devastating effects, Uganda is producing solution-based products onto market. Unlike in the past, Ugandan products have been warmly received by local consumers because of their improved quality, says NRM National Treasurer Namayanja Rose Nsereko. According to her, Ugandan scientists are in final stages of testing COVID-19 vaccines with 90%...
Ugandan exporters sensitized on export requirements to benefit from AGOA
The USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (the Hub) partnered with the Uganda Parliament Speaker’s Office, the AGOA Country Response Office and AGOA Exporters Association, to conduct the Uganda Parliamentary AGOA Sensitization Workshops and Exhibition on May 14 -15 at the Uganda Parliament in Kampala. The Ugandan companies learned about the AGOA export...
Uganda parliamentary speaker rallies public to attend local AGOA expo
The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has highlighted that more needs to be done in creating awareness about the opportunities provided by the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA is a United States Trade Act, enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law that significantly enhances market access to the U.S for qualifying Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Kadaga...
Uganda crafts strategy to maximise potential of its apparel sector
Uganda is crafting a new strategy to revamp its cotton, textiles and apparel sector as part of efforts to tap into the booming global textiles and apparels market. The plans dovetail with similar efforts to refocus the under-exploited opportunity presented by the US-sponsored African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) where Uganda's earnings have been modest. Although Agoa...
Uganda: Government working on new AGOA strategy
Uganda will, before the end of April, reportedly launch a national strategy that will identify key products that Uganda can leverage on to improve its exports to US. The strategy, whose formulation started in 2016, seeks to among others, identify five key products that can influence Uganda’s penetration into the US market. Ms Suzan Muhwezi, the head of...
Uganda's plan for more trade under AGOA
Uganda is working on a plan to increase its exports to the US through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in the next five years. Under Agoa, a US trade legislation enacted in May 2000, sub-Saharan African countries export more than 6,000 different products duty free. The Act originally covered an eight-year period from October 2000 to September 2008, but...