A Chinese coffee industry delegation will visit Uganda later this month for a national origin tour, Uganda’s Ambassador to China, Oliver Wonekha, announced on May 3 during the 137th China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, Monitor reported.

The tour will cover coffee farms, washing stations, and export hubs, providing a detailed look at Uganda’s coffee production. This comes as China strengthens its role as a key buyer of Ugandan coffee.

In March 2024, Uganda exported 35,532 bags of coffee to China, up from 12,264 bags in February. This increase has made China Uganda’s second-largest Asian market and sixth-largest globally, surpassing Japan.

“Just last month, we witnessed Ugandan coffee being unboxed in Henan Province’s Zhengzhou, a powerful image of how far we’ve come,” Wonekha said, as quoted by Monitor.

Uganda, Africa’s largest Robusta exporter and the world’s seventh-largest coffee producer, is expanding its footprint in Asia amid shifting global consumption trends. China’s coffee consumption is growing annually by 15%, according to the International Coffee Organisation. Uganda’s campaign to position itself as a premium coffee origin is part of its economic diplomacy strategy to diversify export markets and boost foreign exchange earnings.

The tour, coordinated by Uganda’s Embassy in Beijing, the Consulate General in Guangzhou, and the Ministry of Agriculture, will feature cupping sessions and buyer engagements to promote Uganda’s coffee. Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Ramathan Ggoobi is quoted as saying by Monitor, “Our missions abroad must be frontline brand ambassadors for Uganda, driving exports, investment, and tourism.”

Uganda’s Consul General in Guangzhou, Judyth Nsababera, noted that Uganda’s efforts to host business delegations and facilitate B2B engagements have helped build confidence in Uganda as a reliable coffee origin.

Doryn Negesa, Principal Marketing Officer at MAAIF, emphasised that Uganda’s coffee is distinguished by its “rich volcanic soils and the hands of committed farmers.”

Uganda’s coffee export earnings more than doubled to $167.68mn in March 2025, compared to $82.56mn in February 2024.

The number of bags exported rose to 555,756, up from 434,582 the previous year, PML Daily reported on May 6.

The Canton Fair, held from May 1–4 in Guangzhou, featured Uganda as part of a group of ten countries showcasing their products.

In related news, as bne IntelliNews reported, Ugandan coffee exporter Just Know Your Coffee Cup (JKCC) recently secured a $6.5mn loan from the IDH Farmfit Fund to scale its direct sourcing model and support 20,000 smallholder growers.