Middle East still top destination for Uganda’s exports

KAMPALA - In April 2025, the Middle East remained Uganda’s largest export destination, accounting for 35.7% of the total market share, a new report shows.

The Performance of the Economy report for May 2025 indicates that, at a country-specific level within the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates dominated, receiving 98.5% of Uganda’s exports to the region.

The East African Community (EAC) was the second-largest destination, accounting for 24.4% of total exports, followed by the European Union (18.5%) and Asia (16.0%).

Within the EAC, the Democratic Republic of Congo maintained its position as the largest importer of Uganda’s merchandise, taking up 30.8% of the total exports. This was followed by Kenya at 23.3% and South Sudan at 21.2%.

Uganda’s export earnings rose by 72.1% in April compared to the same period last year. The ministry report indicates that export receipts increased to $1,110.05 million from $644.90 million in April 2024.

“This growth was primarily driven by higher export earnings from coffee, electricity, gold, cocoa beans, sugar and beer, among others,” it says.