KAMPALA, Uganda | THE BLACK EXAMINER | Uganda’s coffee exports in October were up 3.4% year on year, helped by a bumper crop in the southwest of the country, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a report.

Uganda is Africa’s largest exporter of coffee beans and earnings from the shipments are one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange.

The East African country shipped 470,080 60kg bags in October, the UCDA report said.

Though volumes were up only 3.4%, the October shipments fetched $79 million for an 18% jump on the same month last year.

“The monthly coffee exports performance was higher than the previous year on account of a good crop harvest in (the) South-Western region and the prevailing good prices on the global scene,” the UCDA said.