Coffee anchors a more strategic Uganda–Vietnam trade corridor
The Pearl of Africa Business Forum – Vietnam Chapter in Hanoi brought together more than 300 officials, business leaders, investors, researchers and development partners. The event signalled a deliberate move to turn long-standing political ties into economic outcomes. According to figures presented at the forum, bilateral trade rose from US$28.6 million in 2024 to US$53.4 million in 2025 on one official series, while broader annual numbers put total trade at approximately US$95.47 million.
Uganda exported around US$49.85 million to Vietnam, while imports from Vietnam reached about US$45.62 million, leaving Kampala with a modest trade surplus. Vietnamese shipments to Uganda include animal feeds, cement clinker, electronics, clothes, footwear and wood veneer. Uganda’s exports are led by coffee, alongside cotton and meat.
Coffee sits at the core of this expansion. Uganda has seen strong export performance more broadly, earning about US$2.3 billion from coffee exports in the 12 months to May 2026, with shipments of 8.6 million 60-kilogramme bags, according to data from Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. As a result, the new Collaboration Agreement on Coffee Value Chain Development agreed between the two countries gives investors a clear thematic anchor in a sector where Uganda is already a significant global supplier.
The agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in November 2022 between Uganda and the Vietnam Coffee Coordination Board, which set the stage for cooperation on production, marketing, climate resilience and value addition. However, the latest accord goes further by framing collaboration along the entire coffee value chain, including processing, traceability, machinery, packaging and specialty coffee. Uganda and Vietnam are moving coffee from a simple commodity trade into a shared industrial strategy around deforestation-free, traceable Robusta.
What does the forum mean for investors?
Vietnamese investment in Uganda is still modest but growing. Forum figures put cumulative Vietnamese investment at about US$40 million, including Ba Dinh JSC’s US$35 million gold exploration project and ATAD Steel’s construction-related investment of roughly US$500,000, alongside other smaller ventures. Kampala wants to attract capital, promote value addition and position Uganda as a gateway to East African Community and African Continental Free Trade Area markets. For Vietnamese firms, the message is clear: produce in Uganda and use the country as a springboard into African demand.
Meanwhile, both sides are pushing beyond commodities. Officials highlighted ICT as an emerging frontier, agreeing to develop two pilot proposals within 90 days. Areas under discussion include digital payments for trade, agricultural traceability and business-process outsourcing that could employ Ugandan graduates in support functions for Vietnamese companies. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry are also working to operationalise their memorandum of understanding, with a focus on business matching and concrete partnerships.
Tourism is part of the story too. The Uganda Tourism Board is promoting the country’s wildlife, mountain gorillas and adventure tourism under its ‘Explore Uganda’ brand to Vietnamese travellers.
Why the coffee accord matters for ESG-aligned capital
For institutional investors, the signal is twofold. First, Uganda Vietnam trade is now large enough — at around US$95 million — to justify dedicated attention as a niche but fast-growing South–South corridor. Second, the coffee value-chain agreement aligns with global trends around deforestation-free supply, traceability and regenerative production. This includes IDH’s four-year programme targeting 500,000 tonnes of regenerative coffee across Vietnam, India, Colombia and Uganda.
As regulatory pressure intensifies — particularly from the European Union’s deforestation rules — Uganda–Vietnam cooperation offers exposure to compliant Robusta flows and related processing and logistics assets. The corridor is, in that sense, as much about regulatory positioning as it is about volume growth.
The next phase will be about execution. Investors should watch how quickly the coffee agreement translates into new processing capacity in Uganda, joint traceability platforms, ICT pilots for payments and business process outsourcing, and whether Vietnamese capital in Ugandan mining and construction expands beyond the current US$40 million base.
Quick answers
Total Uganda–Vietnam trade reached approximately US$95.47 million in 2025. Uganda exported around US$49.85 million to Vietnam and imported about US$45.62 million, giving Kampala a modest surplus.
The Collaboration Agreement on Coffee Value Chain Development covers the full supply chain, including processing, traceability, machinery, packaging and specialty coffee. It builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in November 2022 with the Vietnam Coffee Coordination Board.
Cumulative Vietnamese investment in Uganda stands at about US$40 million, led by Ba Dinh JSC’s US$35 million gold exploration project and ATAD Steel’s construction investment of roughly US$500,000.
