UGANDA PLANS TO EXPORT ROASTED COFFEE TO EUROPE
Uganda plans to export roasted coffee to
Europe by the end of 1988, a prominent local businessman said.
    A.R. Sendi said on Sunday that Uganda's Ministry of
Industry supports his plan to build a factory to roast, grind
and pack local coffee for export. Construction will start in
December and the factory should be ready by next October.
    He said the Marketing Ministry has authorised the Coffee
Marketing Board to supply his company <Unipack> with 24,000
tonnes of beans a year for processing and export. Sendi also
told reporters he had negotiated a 69.7 mln French franc loan
from the Banque Industrielle d'Afrique Oriental in Paris.
    Uganda is the world's fifth largest coffee producer, and
expects to produce about 200,000 tonnes this year.
    Market sources say roasted coffee exports will benefit
Uganda's economy as they will not be included in the 2.38 mln
(60 kg) bag export quota assigned to the country under the
latest International Coffee Agreement.
    In addition, the value of roasted coffee should be
substantially higher than that of unroasted beans, they said.
    The U.S. Is the biggest buyer of Ugandan coffee, most of
which is used to produce instant coffee.
 REUTER
