A fuel tank truck heading to Uganda
The Bank of Uganda has revealed that Uganda imported goods worth Shs8Trn between October and December 2023, which is almost double the earning Uganda made within the same period.
The details are contained in the State of Economy report for December 2023, that was recently unveiled by the Central Bank which highlighted that, “The non-coffee export receipts posted a growth of 22.9% to US$794.5 million (Shs3.003Trn) in the quarter. Conversely, merchandise imports, which amounted to US$ 2,119.3 million (Shs8.010Trn) in the quarter under review, were weighed down by declines in government imports, while the private sector imports growth at 8.9% was also relatively weak, reflecting declines in import prices.”
The report also revealed that Uganda earned US$1,264.4 million (Shs4.776Trn) from exports in the quarter under review, and the growth was driven by strong growth in coffee and non-coffee exports. The coffee exports at US$295.0 million (Shs1.115Trn) rose by 40.8%, driven by a 22.5% increase in volume and a 15.1% increase in price.
The Central Bank in its projections noted that the balance of payments outlook is dependent on how geopolitical tensions will evolve and how long the cost of capital in global financial markets stays high.
“In the short term, the current account balance will likely be supported by increased export revenues given the favorable weather conditions. On the downside, potential high-for-longer interest rates could keep global financial conditions tighter restricting the availability of financing especially to the government at affordable terms,” the report reads in part.
