Uganda’s President Museveni seeks Algeria’s partnership in coffee value-addition

Uganda’s President Museveni seeks Algeria’s partnership in coffee value-addition

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda has called on Algeria to join him in establishing a joint venture that would add value to Uganda’s coffee exports. The President made the appeal when he met with an Algerian delegation on the sidelines of the G-25 Africa Coffee Summit at Speke Resort Munyonyo.

The delegation was led by Hon. Tayeb Zitouni, the Algerian Minister of Commerce and Export Promotion. President Museveni told them that Africa, including Uganda, has been supporting Europe’s prosperity by buying their products, but Europe has not returned the favor.

“You know when I buy from you something, I’m supporting your prosperity and we have been using our pockets for the last 200 years to support Europeans by buying their vehicles, buying their aero-planes and medicines. When we say that okay you support us also by adding value to our coffee and you pay us more, they don’t understand it,” the President said.

Museveni proposes joint ventures for win-win situation

President Museveni said that he wanted to work with Algeria and other countries from North Africa and the Middle East to create joint ventures that would process Uganda’s coffee and sell it at a higher price. He said that this would benefit both Uganda and its partners, as well as create more jobs.

“Therefore, what I propose are joint ventures. The country will get more money from coffee through the joint venture than what we are getting now for raw coffee. For raw coffee, we may be getting USD2.5 per kilogram, when we add value together, we may get USD25. Even if Uganda was to get USD25 together with our joint venture and then the external operations take USD10 or 15, it will be a win-win situation and then create more jobs. That is why we want our Northern African friends and those from the Middle East to come and cooperate with us in this USD25 share,” he added.

Museveni hosts G-25 Africa Coffee Summit

President Museveni is hosting the G-25 Africa Coffee Summit, which is a platform for African coffee producers and exporters to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the global coffee market. The summit aims to promote African coffee as a premium product and to increase its share in the world market.

According to the International Coffee Organization, Africa accounts for about 12% of the world’s coffee production and 16% of its exports. However, most of Africa’s coffee is exported as raw beans, which fetch low prices compared to processed coffee.

The summit also seeks to foster cooperation and integration among African countries in the coffee sector, as well as to attract investment and technology from other regions.