The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has revealed that in September 2024, Ugandans imported merchandise worth 3.859Trn.
The country also recorded a Shs410Bn drop in goods exported to the international market in the same month.
Government’s revelation is contained in the Performance of the Economy Monthly Report, October 2024 that the Ministry released recently, indicating that on monthly basis, the value of merchandise imports declined by 1.7 percent, from US$ 1,070.19 million (Shs3.927Trn), in August 2024 to USD 1,051.53 million (Shs3.859Trn) in September 2024.
“This was mainly attributed to lower volumes of both Government project imports and formal private sector imports particularly; mineral products (excluding petroleum products); vegetable products, animal, beverages, fats & oil; wood & wood products, among others,” read in part the report.
In comparison to the same month the previous year, the import bill grew by 14.0 percent from US$ 922.73 million (Shs3.386Trn) in September 2023 to US$ 1,051.53 million (Shs3.859Trn) in September 2024. This growth was majorly attributed to higher import volumes for mineral products (excluding petroleum products); chemical & related products; vegetable products, animal, beverages, fats & oil; as well as plastics, rubber, & related products.
On explaining the origins of Uganda’s imports, the Ministry of Finance noted that during the month of September 2024, Asia was the largest source of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 38.2 percent of the total imports. Within Asia, the major sources were China and India accounting for 47.5 percent and 27.7 percent of the total imports from the region, respectively.
Other notable sources of Uganda’s imports included the EAC at 25.1 percent, the Rest of Africa and the Middle East each at 13.8 percent of the total imports, respectively. Within the EAC, Tanzania was the leading source of Uganda’s imports, accounting for 65.2 percent followed by Kenya at 32.1 percent. Some of the key products imported from Tanzania include gold and rice, among others.
