President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni announced plans to establish a chocolate factory in the Budibuyo district, reaffirming his commitment to expanding added value and creating employment opportunities in cocoa rich areas of Uganda.
During his campaign tour, the presidential candidate of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) told supporters that the project would leverage the region's long-standing agricultural advantages to increase household income. He revealed that he had made multiple attempts to persuade American investors to build factories here, but all ended in failure. Some people claimed that Uganda lacked necessary raw materials such as milk and sugar.
Museveni added. At present, he has found an investor willing to take over the project.
On October 13, 2025, the Uganda Bureau of Standards released three draft East African Community standards, namely "Instant Coffee Specification" (DEAS 975:2025), "Roasted and ground coffee specification" (DEAS 105:2025), and "Malt based cocoa product specification". The feedback period ends on December 6, 2025. The main content includes:
1. Scope of application, relevant terms and definitions;
2. General and special quality requirements for related products, including ingredient, appearance, physical and chemical properties, etc. For example, instant coffee should flow freely, have its unique color and flavor, be free of foreign objects and foreign impurities, and prohibit the addition of chicory. Some hygiene limits are shown in the table below;
3. Product packaging and labeling requirements, such as roasted coffee beans, roasted ground coffee, should be labeled with product name, manufacturer/packager information, country of origin, food additives, production date, shelf life, storage method, net content, batch number, decaffeination declaration (if applicable), etc.
