Editor's note: African poverty is deep and persistent. One thing that is urgently needed to escape this, as the article below suggests, is the export of finished products, not raw materials, a policy advocated by Proutist Universal. Government officials in Uganda would do well to fund projects that aim at establishing this kind of value-added industry. Otherwise, wealthy nations will continue to grow wealthier at African expense.
KAMPALA (IPS) - Coffee producers in Uganda suffer from an unfair trade relationship with Europe, even though their beans produce some of the best quality coffee in the world, says the Ugandan coffee industry's governing body.
''The biggest loser is the person directly involved in coffee bean production," says Henry Ngabirano, director of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority. Moreover, Ugandan producers get an "unequal share of the revenue generated by coffee beans".
Combined, Ugandan growers and exporters receive 6 percent of the finished product's price, according to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority. "This shows what level of exploitation there is," Ngabirano says. ... Full story
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