Uganda's arabica exports reached 113,354 sixty-kilo bags in September 2026, up 56% from the 72,660 bags shipped in September 2025. Robusta moved the other way, falling 18.9% to 622,081 bags. The Uganda Coffee Development Authority's September report puts total exports at 735,435 bags worth $186.9 million, an average of $4.24 a kilo across both species.
Two figures sit behind that average, and they explain most of what happened in the month. Arabica sold at $6.35 a kilo. Robusta sold at $3.85. Arabica made up 15.4% of the volume and 23.1% of the money.
What September's export figures show
| Type | September 2025 | September 2026 | Change in bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robusta | 767,141 bags / $188.9m | 622,081 bags / $143.7m | −18.9% |
| Arabica | 72,660 bags / $28.3m | 113,354 bags / $43.2m | +56.0% |
| Total | 853,543 bags / $202.6m | 735,435 bags / $186.9m | −13.8% |
Against September 2025, volume fell 13.8% and value fell 7.7%. Value held up better than volume because the mix shifted toward arabica. Fewer bags left the country, and a larger share of them were the expensive ones.
The twelve months to September 2026, Uganda's coffee year, closed at 8.0 million bags worth $2.1 billion. The year before closed at 8.2 million bags worth $2.2 billion.
Uganda arabica exports doubled from August
August shipped 56,821 bags of arabica. September shipped 113,354. That is a 99.5% rise in a single month, against a fall of 8.6% in robusta over the same period.
Four grades carried almost all of it. Drugar, the dried cherry arabica from the Elgon slopes, accounted for 39,391 bags, or 34.8% of arabica exports. Bugisu AB took 24,578 bags (21.7%), Wugar 19,982 (17.6%) and Bugisu AA 8,952 (7.9%). The two grades that fetched the month's highest prices, Mount Elgon AB and A+, were small in volume at 2,692 bags between them.
UCDA projects 700,000 bags for October, about 4.8% below September, with the main harvest north of the equator under way.
What buyers paid, grade by grade
| Grade | Type | US$ per kilo, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Elgon AB | Arabica | 7.90 |
| Mount Elgon A+ | Arabica | 7.80 |
| Bugisu A | Arabica | 7.30 |
| Wugar | Arabica | 7.00 |
| Bugisu AA | Arabica | 6.90 |
| Organic Drugar | Arabica | 6.80 |
| Sustainable Arabica | Arabica | 6.60 |
| Bugisu AB | Arabica | 6.50 |
| Bugisu C/PB | Arabica | 6.30 |
| Drugar | Arabica | 6.30 |
| Arabica average | Arabica | 6.35 |
| Organic Robusta | Robusta | 4.30 |
| Screen 18 | Robusta | 4.10 |
| Screen 15 | Robusta | 4.00 |
| BHP 1199 | Robusta | 3.20 |
| Robusta average | Robusta | 3.85 |
The order of that table is worth reading twice. Bugisu AA, the grade most specifications name first, sold at $6.90 a kilo. Bugisu A sold at $7.30 and Wugar at $7.00. In September the AA screen carried no premium over the grades below it, and a buyer who priced a contract off the AA screen without checking the actual lots left money on the table.
Mount Elgon AB topped the month at $7.90, with A+ at $7.80. On the robusta side, organic fetched $4.30 and Screen 18 $4.10, while BHP 1199, the natural robusta grade, went at $3.20. The grade guide covers what each screen and class means in the cup.
The spread between the two species
At the monthly averages, an arabica bag earned $381 against $231 for a bag of robusta. Put another way, a 320-bag container, the 19.2 tonnes that fills a 20-foot box, is worth roughly $48,000 more in arabica than in robusta. That spread is why the arabica share matters more than the headline total, and why a single month's mix shift can move national earnings by several million dollars with no change in the price of either species.
Where the arabica went
| Destination | Total bags | Share of exports | Arabica bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 156,066 | 21.2% | 18,548 |
| Sudan | 135,988 | 18.5% | 334 |
| India | 75,518 | 10.3% | 7,172 |
| Germany | 58,304 | 7.9% | 5,589 |
| Switzerland | 54,058 | 7.4% | 14,390 |
| China | 26,678 | 3.6% | 5,040 |
| Morocco | 25,903 | 3.5% | 0 |
| Belgium | 24,560 | 3.3% | 9,762 |
| United States | 10,995 | 1.5% | 9,629 |
Italy took the most coffee overall and the most arabica. Sudan, second overall on 18.5%, bought almost entirely robusta: 135,654 bags against 334 of arabica. Switzerland bought 14,390 bags of arabica inside a total of 54,058, so a quarter of what it took was the expensive half.
The United States took 9,629 bags of arabica. That is 8.5% of Uganda's arabica exports and 1.5% of the country's total coffee trade, a small footprint for a market that size. Europe as a whole took 56% of September volume, Africa 24% and Asia 17%.
Farmgate prices and the mill to port gap
Farmgate in September: kiboko averaged UGX 5,410 a kilo, down from UGX 5,750 in August, a fall of 5.9%. FAQ averaged UGX 12,050. Arabica parchment averaged UGX 15,575, and drugar UGX 14,850, both up less than 1% on August.
Parchment converts to green bean at roughly 50% to 60% outturn, so a shilling price for parchment cannot be compared directly with a dollar price for green. What the farmgate figures show is direction. Kiboko softened through September while parchment held, which put the two ends of the market on different paths within the same month.
Compliance checks running alongside the trade
The same report records the licences behind those exports. UCDA inspected 106 value chain actors in September, among them 61 buying stores, 35 hullers, two factories and eight washing stations, then licensed 13 of them. Inspectors were checking quality standards, traceability and compliance with sector rules.
Separately, 2,463 traders and processors went through sensitisation sessions on EUDR requirements, post-harvest handling and quality standards. For a buyer watching documentation risk, that is the part of the report that matters: licence and traceability checks are happening at the point where the coffee changes hands, not only at the port.
A record world crop is coming
The USDA's July 2026 outlook projects world production of 189.7 million bags in 2026/27, a record and 10.8 million bags above the previous year, with gains in Brazil, Ethiopia, Uganda and Vietnam. World exports are forecast at 131.4 million bags and consumption at 179.7 million, both records. Ending stocks are expected to rise for a second consecutive year, to 26.3 million bags.
More supply against record consumption is a market that can absorb volume without paying more for it. Uganda's own projection for October, at 700,000 bags, is already 4.8% below September. An exporter holding stock in the hope of a price recovery is betting against a record harvest.
What it means for 2026/27 buying
- Name the grade, not just the origin. Uganda arabica can mean Drugar at $6.30 or Mount Elgon AB at $7.90, and the two are not interchangeable in a roast profile.
- Certified supply is thin. Sustainable arabica came to 3,590 bags, 3.2% of arabica exports. Organic and washed robusta together came to 6,679 bags, 1.1% of robusta.
- The trade is concentrated. Eighty-five companies exported in September and the top ten held 68% of the volume, so a single buyer's programme can move a grade.
- Elgon lots move early. The harvest calendar shows the picking window by region, and September's book was already heavy in Elgon grades.
Two pages worth keeping open through the season: the monthly market reports for the UCDA figures as they land, and ugandacoffeeprices.com for farmgate and export prices updated through the month. Buyers who need to verify volume by origin can start with the regional profiles and the variety guide, and the buyer's guide covers contracting and inspection.
The short version: Uganda arabica exports ran at more than double their August level in September, at a price $2.50 a kilo above robusta, into a world crop heading for a record. Grade selection decided the price far more than origin did, and the AA screen was not the premium grade it is often assumed to be. Book specific lots early and price them off what the grade actually sold for.