The Coffee yearbook 2014/15
The Coffee yearbook 2014/15
UgandaCoffeeFederation
UgandaCoffeeFederation
14
15
Word fromED
BETTYNAMWAGALA
ExecutiveDirector -
UCF
Oneyear isgoneandanotherone set in. AtUgandaCoffee
Federationwehavehadyet another year full of challenges
aswell asopportunities just like thebiblical passage titled
“Time for everything”
This time, let’s talkabout coffee thefts.
These theftsoccur at various levelsof thevaluechain
starting fromgreencherriesat the farms, then the ripe
ones, if labourersarehired theyfindwaysof takinga share
of theharvest, indrying, storage, at the timeof sale to the
middlemen throughmanipulationof theweighing scale, at
processing, andat export level during transitboth locally
and regionally.
Noonecanestimate thevalueof losses incurredbydifferent
playersalong thevaluechain since therearenocredible
statisticsbut it’sestimated tobe inbillionsofUganda
shillings. At farm level, it’s ratherhard toestimate the losses
yet thishighly impacts the livelihoodof thecoffee farmers
and sometimesdemotivates them.On theotherhand, at
export level, the losses can readilybeestimated.
In2007when thevicewasat itspeak, 8UCFMembersonly,
registered lossesof about 12,00060-kgbagsestimatedat
overUSD$1.35Million. But somemembers forone reasonor
anotherdidnot submit the statisticswhichmeans the losses
weremuchmore.
Thencome2015,many tradersandexporters reported
that the theftsof coffee in transithas intensifiedagain,
UCF lobbied for support fromdifferentgovernment
officialsboth locallyand regionally.However, just a
handful of tradersandexporterswerewilling to share
the information thatwill create the required impact.
Therefore somegovernmentofficials took thisas
hearsayor thenumberswerenot substantial enough
sinceonly1,50060-kgbagswere reportedvaluedat
aboutUSD$200,000.
Information isvery importantbut ithas tobe supported
bynumbers for thepolicymakers toappreciate the
magnitudeand thereforedraft theappropriatepolicies.
Inoneof his communications inpart, the former
PresidentofUCF,Mr.DavidBarrypointedout that“theft,
it seems, isa factof lifeand takesplacealong thevalue
chainsglobally; and ingreencoffee fromcherry to
thecup. It couldbeuseful andof interest to thecoffee
sector tohavea sensibledatabaseof incidentsbroken
down intocategories: Internal, Pre-processingcoffee
enroute tomills; Export transit theft-withinUgandaand
postMalaba”. But thechallengeherewill be for those
companies sellingFOTwhoget toknowabout these
theftonlyafter it reaches thedestinationandcounter
invoices imposedon themwhich theypayquietlyand
yetpainfully tomaintain their reputationandmarket.
“Without somedecentdata it isdifficult toknow the
absolute sizeof thebeast andwhether thereare signsof
increaseordecrease”,Mr. Barryadded.
Mr. FrankMuramura,ManagingDirectorof JOFRA
forwardersgives somedeterrent recommendations for
exportablecoffee thefts, headvises that:
• The trailer/container shouldbe freeof shipperbrand
markingse.g. ExportersnameorUCDAmarkings.
• Thedrivers’ identitydocumentsmustbechecked
andwherenecessaryphotocopiesandphotographs
taken; teamdrivers shouldalsobeassigned toahigh-
value loads likecoffee.
• There isneed formorecollaborationwith the
transporters through their transport associations,
as thiswill facilitate the sharingof reportsor critical
informationondrivers so that criminal driversare
deniedaccess tocargo.
• Seals shouldbeplacedon the trailer/container.
Although seals canbedefeated, intact sealsgenerally
indicate toanybody inspecting the loadenrouteand
personnel at thepointofdelivery that the shipment
hasn’tbeencompromised.
• Sealsand thewholecontainermustbechecked
onarrival to theport. Cargo shouldbeweighed to
establishwhether ithasbeencompromised in transit
and this shouldbedone in thepresenceof thedriver,
beforehanding itover to theport authorities.
• It is critically important that youworkwithyour
forwarder and transporter toensure thereare
multiple securitycheckpointsalongevery step in
the supplychain. If youarenot co-operating inyour
efforts, youaremore likely to lose the load.
• Shippersmustusebothhigh- and low-tech security
solutions tokeep freight safe like trackingdevices
in the load, using in-plantedchips to trackcriminal
driversanduseof electronic seals.
• Exportdocumentsmustbeprovidedandcontainers
sealedwithin30minutesof loading soas to
minimise the rest time.
• Theneed forRevenueAuthority toverifycargo in
transitdoesnot allow thedoor-to-door loading,
interfereswith the integrityof sealsandviolates
theconceptof FCL/FCLwhich isvital in sea freight.
Itwouldbebetter forURA touse scanners so that
sealsarenotbreached.
• Finally, headvises the tradersandexporters
toanticipateacontinuallychanging security
environment andbe ready tochange tactics tokeep
aheadof the thieves.
So, letuswork together in2016 to see that thisvice
iseliminated.Theground isalready set.Wehave
organisations that arewilling toworkwithuson this
matter. IwishyouaCoffeeTheft Free2016.
