Ugandan coffee on sale in Sweden

Copenhagen - ONE Café, a Swedish-Danish company, has began marketing Ugandan coffee on the Internet.

The coffee, which is packed in a 10-gramme plastic bag like a tea bag, is being sold on www.kaffe-agenterne.dk in three coffee shops in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The bag costs $1.5 (about sh2, 445).

“We are adding value to the product,” commented Johhny Ragazzo, the café chief executive officer.

He said another coffee shop would be opened in September in one of Denmark’s hot tourist spots.

Some of the coffee, he said, is folded in banana fibres and sold as gift packs. The company is also running promotional television advertisements in Denmark and Sweden, Ragazzo disclosed.

He explained that other websites in five different international languages including Chinese will be launched soon to promote Ugandan coffee branded with the ‘Uganda, Gifted by Nature’ logo.

Joseph Tomusange, the Nordic countries envoy, said Ugandan organic products were on high demand.

He said trade and bilateral relations between Uganda and the Nordic countries had improved given the democratic reforms that have taken place over the last few years.

But he commented, “My fear is that they may eventually import raw beans and roast the coffee from here.”

Ugandan coffee to be sold in Sweden

One Café has signed a deal with Elgonia Foods Ltd, a Tororo-based company to process and export the coffee.

Elgonia, with only about 20 employees, is, however, still too small to satisfy the international demand.

The Danish International Development Agency supports the project.

One Café has an automatic production line in Sweden where international roasting companies can send their roasted beans and it is processed and exported.

The company started operations in Denmark after House of Uganda Coffee Ltd (HOUC); a company associated with the Micro Finance Minister Gen. Salim Saleh closed its operations.

“The coffee they (HOUC) had started processing got to the market but the company discontinued its operations,” said Tomusange.

HOUC launched a Ugandan Coffee finished product branded “Mount Elgon Coffee” into the European and Scandinavian market in Copenhagen, Denmark in May 2002.

The company had established partnerships with Sebei, Elgon Cooperative Union (SECU) and Okoro Coffee Growers’ Union.

Under the contract with Supergross chain of supermarkets, HOUC was required to deliver an average of seven tonnes per week. If they failed to do this, their product was to be de-listed from the market.