Archival Sense
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 16, 2025
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Photo courtesy of GCIC Uganda
Uganda earned $1.346 billion (about Shs4.97 trillion) from merchandise exports in May 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance's latest Performance of the Economy Report.
The figure represents a 12.8% increase from the $1.193 billion (about Shs4.40 trillion) earned in May 2025, signalling stronger export performance compared to the same period last year.
The increase was largely driven by higher earnings from gold, tobacco, electricity and oil re-exports, which helped offset weaker performance in other export categories.
However, compared to the previous month, export earnings declined by 4.2%, falling from $1.405 billion (about Shs5.18 trillion) recorded in April.
This means Uganda earned about $59 million (roughly Shs210 billion) less from exports in May than it did in April.
The Ministry attributed the monthly decline mainly to lower earnings from gold and coffee, Uganda's two largest export commodities, which recorded weaker receipts during the month.
Although exports eased from April's exceptionally strong performance, the latest figures show that Uganda continues to earn significantly more from international trade than it did a year ago.
The strong year on year growth suggests that rising exports of other commodities are helping to broaden the country's export base and cushion fluctuations in traditional exports such as coffee and gold.