Uganda gold exports jump more than 10-fold in 2023, says central bank

KAMPALA, March 19 (Reuters) - Uganda's gold exports surged more than 10-fold in 2023 despite U.S. sanctions on a major processor in the East African country, data from the central bank showed on Tuesday.

Uganda, which has emerged as a major hub of gold trade in the region, exported gold worth $2.3 billion in 2023, compared with $201 million over the previous twelve months, Bank of Uganda data showed.

The huge increase was likely driven by exports from some new processors including a Chinese plant, Wagagai Mining Ltd, in eastern Uganda, said Stephen Turyahikayo, who researches the mining sector in the Great Lakes region.

"It was likely a result of the new capacity from that Chinese plant and possibly smaller others," he told Reuters.

Exporters have also been taking advantage of a suspension of tariffs on gold exports last year, said an official from the ministry of energy and mineral development who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak publicly.

In 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on Belgian businessman Alain Goetz and a network of companies connected to him, including African Gold Refinery, one of Uganda's biggest gold refiners.

The U.S. accused Goetz of being involved in the illicit movement of gold from Democratic Republic of Congo. Goetz denied the accusation. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa and Christina Fincher)