Uganda coffee export regulations changed at the end of 2024, and the effects are still working through the trade. The National Coffee (Amendment) Act, 2024 abolished the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) as an independent body and moved its functions into the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). Parliament passed the law on November 6, 2024, the president assented to it on December 20, and the ministry formally took over UCDA's operations in January 2025. Buyers who last shipped from Uganda before that date will find a different registration process, a renamed regulator, and the same quality inspection system running under a new roof.

This post covers what the new law did, what stayed the same for exporters, the EUDR dates that belong in 2026 and 2027 contracts, and the checks worth running before you sign the next lot.

What the National Coffee (Amendment) Act 2024 did

The act was part of the government's Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure program, which folded a number of statutory bodies into their parent ministries. UCDA, created by statute in 1991 and re-established under the National Coffee Act 2021, was the coffee authority in that round. The same program moved NAADS, the dairy authority, and the cotton authority into MAAIF alongside it.

The 2024 amendment was the second restructuring of the coffee regulator in three years. The National Coffee Act 2021 had already replaced the old UCDA statute and given the authority a wider data collection mandate, including the farmer register that later became the backbone of EUDR compliance. The 2024 act went a step further and moved the institution itself.

The handover happened in early January 2025. UCDA's staff, its regional offices, and its Farmer Registration System went to the ministry, and the regulatory work now belongs to the Coffee Development Department. That department publishes the monthly export reports buyers used to receive from UCDA, and the daily indicative price data moved with it. The authority's website still runs at the same address, now under the ministry's name.

For buyers the change is administrative, but it shows up in the paperwork. Documents that carried UCDA's name, grade certificates, export statistics, and inspection records, now come from the ministry's coffee department. The people and the inspection system are the same; the letterhead is not.

What changed in Uganda coffee export regulations

The main change is at the registration desk. Exporters previously applied for a UCDA coffee exporter license. Under the amended act they register with the Coffee Development Department instead, and the department's export marketing registration guidelines apply. The current guidelines require the standard package: business registration documents, tax clearance, proof of operating premises, and a performance bond equivalent to US$25,000.

Quality control did not move. Pre-shipment inspection, grading, and certification still run through the ministry's quality assurance directorate, the unit that has signed off on Uganda's exports for years. The grade names buyers quote, Bugisu AA, Wugar, Drugar, and the rest, are unchanged, and the inspection regime behind them is unchanged. Gordon Katwirenabo, Uganda's Assistant Commissioner for Quality Assurance and Value Addition, has said the country's quality assurance systems are what support its range of flavor profiles, and that is the same system exporters have always dealt with. The varieties that pass through it, from SL14 and SL28 Arabica to indigenous Robusta types, and the processing methods that shape the finished bean, are covered in the guides on this site.

The Arabica-Robusta split did not change either. Robusta still accounts for roughly four of every five bags Uganda exports, with Arabica from the highlands making up the rest. Certification programs such as Organic, Fair Trade, and Rainforest Alliance run through independent auditing bodies, so the merger left their requirements untouched. Buyers who hold certified lots can keep working with the same certifiers and the same audit schedules.

Daily indicative price reporting also continues. The department lists prices for the main grades each trading day, and buyers who want the data in one place can follow it on the price portal.

EUDR deadlines moved again, and the farmer register is still filling up

The EU Deforestation Regulation has been postponed twice, and the dates to use in contracts are now 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators and 30 June 2027 for micro and small enterprises. The second postponement came through Regulation (EU) 2025/2650. Coffee is not covered by the EU Timber Regulation, so the later date applies to small businesses in the coffee chain.

Uganda's answer has been the national register that the National Coffee Act 2021 already required. The Farmer Registration System gives each farm a unique identifier and records its geolocation. By May 2025 the register held about 1.25 million farmers, against a stated target of 2.8 million, and the mapped areas cover the main Arabica and Robusta districts. Exporters can now supply polygon coordinates for the lots they ship. A due diligence statement under the regulation has to name the product, the quantity, the country of production, and the geolocation of the plots, and link each shipment to the operator responsible for it; the step-by-step EUDR guide on this site walks through the full process.

The register moved to MAAIF with the rest of UCDA, and the ministry is the counterpart for questions about geolocation data. Whatever your company size, EUDR data belongs in the contract as a condition of supply, not a request after shipment. The December 2026 date falls inside the main 2026/27 buying season, so lots contracted now will be among the first checked against it.

Record exports in 2025, a cooler price market in 2026

The regulatory shake-up happened during the best export year Uganda has recorded. In the 2024/25 coffee year Uganda shipped about 8.2 million 60-kg bags worth US$2.3 billion, up 64 percent in value, and overtook Ethiopia as Africa's largest coffee exporter. Coffee remains the country's top foreign exchange earner.

Production is still well short of the National Coffee Strategy target of 20 million bags by 2030, and the replanting programs across the Robusta belt and the highlands are the main path toward it. The regions overview shows where that volume comes from and how each area's harvest windows line up.

Prices have cooled from the 2025 peak. In March 2026 Uganda exported 671,152 bags worth US$173.4 million; Robusta volume rose about 7 percent year on year while Robusta value fell about 21 percent, a sign that supply has caught up with demand. Farm-gate and FOB levels move week to week, and current Uganda coffee prices are tracked there for buyers who want the latest numbers before negotiating.

Checks for buyers before the 2026/27 season

  • Confirm the exporter's registration. Ask for the current registration certificate from the Coffee Development Department. A pre-2025 UCDA license is not the same document.
  • Put EUDR data in the contract. Geolocation polygons, farm identifiers, and the due diligence statement belong in the terms, with the December 2026 date in mind.
  • Verify grades and moisture at the dry mill. Inspection still runs pre-shipment, but catching a problem before the coffee is bagged costs a fraction of a rejected container.
  • Cross-check prices against the daily reports before you agree on FOB levels.
  • If you source through cooperatives, confirm their registration status too. Cooperatives operate under the same amended act, and the buyer's guide walks through the direct sourcing process.

Uganda coffee export regulations have changed more since 2024 than in the two decades before it: the regulator now sits inside the agriculture ministry, exporter registration has replaced the old license, and the EUDR dates in contracts have moved twice. What has not changed is the inspection system that grades the coffee, the regions that supply it, and the harvest windows that shape the year. Buyers who update their supplier checks and contract terms to match the new rules will find the market straightforward to work with.