The government and cottage industrialists in Uganda are keen to ride the wave of booming raw cocoa sales by enhancing processing.

In the year ending June 2025, cocoa sales hit an unprecedented 72,545 tonnes, worth 2.2 trillion shillings ($620 million). 

Hitherto in the 2012-22 timeline, annual sales had been averaging around 32,000 tonnes, worth 265 billion shillings ($73 million).

Niche earnings have therefore risen by an exponential 88.2% in just 24 months – reported the Monitor on August 14, 2025. 

This growth could have been more did it comprise lucrative processed products which currently constitute just a trickle of the value chain.

Farmers’ Lot 

In August 2023, Uganda laid the cornerstone for a processing factory in Bundibugyo district in the west of the country. 

Costing 91.5 billion shillings ($24.9 million), the project aimed to facilitate direct raw bean purchases from farmers.

Beforehand, growers would get a third of the farm gate price because they sold wet beans to middlemen who’d then dry them. Brokers paid 3,000 shillings ($0.81)/kg of wet beans in 2023, which they sold dried to shippers at 7,800 shillings ($2.13). 

By mid-April 2024, farmers with drying expertise were earning 31,000 shillings ($8.17) a kg from direct sales. 

The Bundibugyo project and similar can likewise eliminate the problem of indirect sales and boost majority farmers’ earnings. 

Chocolate Processing

Apart from promoting raw cocoa sales via factories, the government has been exploiting domestic chocolate processing. 

A 2022 feasibility study for the Bundibugyo factory indeed targeted to process 80% of all cocoa that Uganda trades.  

The study found a capacity to convert 36,000 tonnes of cocoa beans and process 2,183 tonnes of cocoa paste and powder.

So far, news on the progress is scanty, which means the East African country still exports its cocoa bulk raw.

Cottage plants with a capacity for processing 10,000 kg of beans are however keeping the dream alive. One of these is Nile Chocolate, whose award-winning dark chocolate range is currently a household name.

Because markets in Europe represent the bulk of global chocolate sales, Uganda is improving its production systems to bridge regulations.

One major regulation is the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is soon coming into effect. On August 12, Uganda drew praises from the Cocoa Farmers Alliance Association of Africa for its EUDR-related preparations.

So, factory visions, decent local prices and scaling up production are slowly but surely transiting Uganda’s cocoa sector towards a processing crossover. The statistics in the next section further explore the emerging processing industry of East Africa’s biggest cocoa producer.

Uganda Cocoa Processing Statistics 

Exporting 74% of East Africa-grown cocoa, Uganda prides in nutty equatorial beans from mainly the western district of Bundibugyo. According to the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), cocoa is the country’s fourth biggest agricultural forex earner behind coffee, tea and fish. Export returns of mainly raw beans skyrocketed to $68.7 million in February 2025 from global shortages that hiked prices. There is more potential for earnings, however, which hides in currently low processing capacity. 

A major challenge is a lack of post-harvest processing capital for small-scale farmers, who comprise 90% of cocoa growers. Drying alone requires 336,000 shillings ($94.32) an acre while infrastructure is wanting, according to Bagritech. The country still targets to bring local processing of both mass cocoa and products to 80% of production.

How big is the cocoa processing value chain in Uganda? 

Because processing is still in cottage industry status into 2025, its gains are only measurable by sales in retail chains. The country’s cocoa-chocolate value chain through supermarkets makes about $8.3 million annually. Some of the sales come from dark chocolates by such domestic firms as Nile Chocolate.

Which markets hold potential for Uganda’s future processed cocoa? 

Uganda’s main cocoa market, the European Union (EU), had a chocolate market value of $13 billion in 2024. Since Uganda already exports its raw beans here, it has a ready market for any products it processes. According to AInvest analysis, the EU is experiencing a 15% annual growth in single origin cocoa products. Uganda can exploit this with its unique nutty-tasting cocoa.