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By George Mangula
Uganda’s gold exports more than doubled in 2019 compared with the previous year, according to the Bank of Uganda (BoU) latest data.
Uganda shipped US$1.25 billion worth of gold last year, compared with US$514.8 million exported in the previous year.
BoU attributes the sharp rise to soaring demand for bullion and larger refining capacity.
Shipments of gold had been negligible for Uganda but they started to rise sharply after a major refiner, Africa Gold Refinery, opened shop in 2016.
Uganda’s gold eXPORTS stood at under US$10 million about decade ago, but in 2018 gold for the first time overtook coffee as Uganda’s biggest export.
Three more smaller refineries have since been commissioned, adding to the country’s processing capacity and allowing Uganda to slowly emerge as a regional gold trading hub despite low domestic production of the metal.
Uganda’s own domestic gold production, mostly dominated by small-scale wildcat miners, is estimated at less than US$50 million.
The four refineries source their gold from regional countries, including Democratic Republic of Congo, where rights activists previously blamed parts of the mineral trade for fuelling militia violence.
The jump in exports last year was also caused by the large consignment of gold that the African Gold Refinery imported from sanctions-hit Venezuela and subsequently re-exported.
Uganda is likely to continue recording large year-on-year increases in bullion exports as the country continues to grow as the region’s trading hub for the metal, BoU says.
