That dollar amount reflects a 222.8% acceleration from $3.97 billion five years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, the value of Ugandan exports spiked by 59.2% compared to $8 billion starting from 2024.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Ugandan shilling appreciated by 0.4% against the US dollar since 2021 but diluted by -4.3% from 2024 to 2025. Uganda’s weaker local currency since 2024 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Uganda’s Top Trade Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 83.8% of products exported from Uganda was bought by importers in: United Arab Emirates (40.5% of the Ugandan total), Hong Kong (10.5%), Italy (5.6%), Kenya (5.3%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (5.2%), South Sudan (4.1%), Germany (3%), Rwanda (2.8%), Netherlands (2.3%), United States of America (1.65%), Tanzania (1.58%) and Belgium (1.4%).
From a continental perspective, 57.3% of Uganda’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 23.9% was sold to importers in Africa. Uganda shipped another 16.7% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to North America (2.0%), Australia and New Zealand in Oceania (0.2%) then Latin America (0.03%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Uganda’s population of 48 million people, its total US$12.8 billion in 2025 exports translates to approximately $270 for every resident in the central eastern African country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $170 per capita one year earlier during 2024.
Uganda’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Ugandan global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Uganda.
- Gems, precious metals: US$6.4 billion (50% of total exports)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $2.5 billion (19.9%)
- Cocoa: $633 million (4.9%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $244.3 million (1.9%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $195.7 million (1.5%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $176.6 million (1.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $173.6 million (1.4%)
- Ceramic products: $171.4 million (1.3%)
- Iron, steel: $169.4 million (1.3%)
- Milling products, malt, starches: $161.2 million (1.3%)
Uganda’s top 10 exports approached four-fifths (84.9%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 111.4% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place for improving export sales was cocoa via a 106.4% advance.
Uganda’s shipments of gems and precious metals posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 89.5%.
The sole decliner among Uganda’s top 10 export categories were the metals iron and steel thanks to a -4.8% year-over-year drop.
From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, unwrought gold represents Uganda ’s most valuable exported product at 50% of the country’s total. In second place was coffee (19.2%) trailed by cocoa beans (4.9%), sugar (1.8%), ceramic flags, tiles and cubes (1.3%), processed petroleum oils (1%), palm oil (also 1%), fish fillets and pieces (0.8%), hydraulic cements (0.7%) then new rubber tires (also 0.7%).
Products Generating Uganda’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Ugandan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Coffee, tea, spices: US$2.5 billion (Up by 55.6% since 2024)
- Cocoa: $626 million (Up by 107.8%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $164.9 million (Up by 95.9%)
- Milling products, malt, starches: $151.6 million (Up by 13.6%)
- Fish: $142.3 million (Up by 11.4%)
- Ceramic products: $108.4 million (Up by 159.5%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $101.7 million (Up by 37.6%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $92.6 million (Up by 26.1%)
- Wood: $87.4 million (Down by -6.4%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $81.4 million (Up by 20.1%)
Historically, Uganda earns highly positive net exports in the international trade of coffee, tea and spices notably vanilla. In turn, these cashflows indicate Uganda’s strong competitive advantages under the coffee, tea and spices product category.
Products Causing Uganda’s Worst Trade Deficits
Uganda incurred an overall -US$6.1 billion trade deficit for 2025. That dollar amount results from a 4.4% expansion from -$5.8 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2024.
Below are exports from Uganda that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Uganda’s goods trail Ugandan importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$2.1 billion (Up by 7.7% since 2024)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.2 billion (Up by 11%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$857.7 million (Up by 39.8%)
- Vehicles: -$817.2 million (Up by 9.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$653.4 million (Up by 14%)
- Cereals: -$471.4 million (Up by 18.7%)
- Iron, steel: -$455.2 million (Up by 7.7%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$397 million (Up by 121.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$375.3 million (Up by 17.7%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$367.9 million (Up by 20.2%)
Uganda has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels including oil, historically for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gas, coal and petroleum jelly.
Ugandan Export Companies
Not one Ugandan corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists international exports-related companies from Uganda. Selected examples are shown below.
- Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (pharmaceuticals)
- Kakira Sugar Works (sugar)
- Kinyara Sugar Works Limited (sugar)
- Kyagalanyi Coffee Limited (coffee)
- Sango Bay Estates Limited (sugar)
- Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (sugar)
- Uganda Air Cargo (industrial transportation)
- Uganda Virus Research Institute (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology)
In macroeconomic terms, Uganda’s total exported goods represent 6.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($187.1 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 6.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 4.7% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Uganda’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Uganda’s unemployment rate averaged 2.7% for 2025, mirroring the average 2.7% one year earlier according to Trading Economics metrics.
Uganda’s capital city is Kampala, a historical name that refers to “where the king goes hunting”.
See also Kenya’s Top 10 Exports, Togo’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports, Top African Export Countries and United States Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Uganda. Accessed on July 26, 2026
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Uganda. Accessed on July 26, 2026
Forbes 2025 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 26, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 26, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 26, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 26, 2026
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 26, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Uganda. Accessed on July 26, 2026
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 26, 2026
Wikipedia, Uganda. Accessed on July 26, 2026