Ugandan gold
Uganda’s gold trade had a banner year in 2025, vaulting the metal past coffee to become the country’s top export and main source of foreign exchange. According to the Bank of Uganda, shipments jumped 75.8% to $5.8 billion, up sharply from $3.3 billion the year before, as record global prices lured new players into the market. Notably, the surge was fueled less by domestic production than by Uganda’s growing role as a regional hub that processes and trades gold arriving from neighbors such as the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Rising geopolitical tensions pushed gold prices up by more than 64% last year, further turbocharging exports. The momentum also coincided with the opening of Uganda’s first large-scale, Chinese-backed gold mine in the country’s east, raising the country’s credentials as a major player in the global gold trade.
CNBC Africa