Examination of the Competitiveness of Uganda's Agriculture

Maróty, Mariann Mimi

Keywords: agricultural trade, competitiveness, comparative advantage, gravity model, Q10, Q17

Due to Uganda's geographical location, outstanding natural endowments, and resources, it is basically considered an agricultural country. Agricultural trade plays a huge role in its economy and international trade, as it is one of the largest coffee producing and exporting countries in the world. The study examines the competitiveness of agricultural trade of Uganda. It presents the current situation and future opportunities of the East African country's economy of agricultural trade. Furthermore, it examines the trade partner countries and trade competitiveness of the most outstanding agricultural product groups between 1994 and 2017. The study analyzes Uganda's agricultural trade and the competitiveness of the coffee product group in the global market by HS-6, using Balassa's comparative advantage indicators. The results show that Kenya and Sudan are Uganda's main export partners; coffee and fish play a significant role among the most important export product groups. The study reveals how Uganda's agricultural trade is integrated into international trade and uses the gravity model to show the structural factors that drive Uganda's agricultural trade.

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