Summary: Coffee is produced in 53 countries and territories and is vital to the economies of many underdeveloped countries. In 1976, the export value of coffee was more than $8 billion, second only to petroleum in international commodity trade. For the 1976-77 crop year, Uganda was the seventh largest coffee-producing country, producing 2.7 million bags weighing 60 kilo each. In 1976, Uganda exported 2.6 million bags valued at $298 million which represented about 83 percent of its total exports. The United States in 1976 imported 19.8 million bags of coffee valued at $2.6 billion, of which 5 percent (or 941,000 bags valued at $106 million) reportedly came from Uganda. The country of origin of coffee is usually the country where the merchandise is grown; however, where the country of origin cannot be determined, the transactions are credited to the country of shipment. Therefore, the origin statistics for Uganda or any other country could be overstated or understated. The ability to obtain precise origin data is further compromised by the 1976 International Coffee Agreement which differed from the 1968 Agreement on the use of export quotas. Green Coffee Association statistics for 1976 indicate that about 15 percent of coffee imports were for "order" or no special purchaser. About 35 percent of imports from Uganda were consigned to "order."
