Uganda case study
Trade and Aid
Lesson starter

The trade game:

In the last lesson you played the trade game. Now we are
going to reflect on what it taught us. Answer the following
questions in full sentences in your jotter.

What country did you represent?

What raw materials did you start with?

What equipment did you start with?

How much money did you make at the end of the
game?

What problems did you encounter whilst making your
goods?

What have you learnt about the pattern of world
trade?
Introduction

Aims of this lesson:

To look at a case study of trade in a
developing country.

To find out why the changing prices of
primary goods can have big
consequences on developing countries.
Introduction to Uganda

Uganda is a country in mid-eastern Africa.

It is a very poor country.

Uganda has a very good climate for farming and it
is well suited to cattle farming.

Uganda is mainly flat land and this is therefore
good for the production of goods too.

Despite this Uganda is one of the poorest
countries in the world.
Trade in Uganda

Uganda has always had a trade deficit (since it
began to trade).

However this trade deficit has become a lot worse
since 1995.

Uganda’s main export is coffee (a Primary good).

Uganda’s main imports are almost all
manufactured goods such as machinery, and
chemicals (used for farming)
Coffee Trade

As with all primary goods the coffee trade can
have it’s ups and downs.

In 1977 for example the price of coffee was very
high and this meant that Uganda could buy 5
times more manufactured good than they can
today.

The price of coffee has been falling and in 1996 it
hit an all time low, however the price is again
returning to that low now.
The effects of coffee
prices on farmers

When the price of coffee goes down it can cause
many problems. What do you think these could
be?

Can’t afford to buy important goods such as food
and clothes.

May not be able to send their children to school or
to the hospital (these are paid for in Uganda)

They can’t risk changing crops because coffee
bushes take so long to re-grown (when they are
first grown)
TASK

Turn to page 109 of the International issues book

Use the information on pages 109-111 to answer
either the GENERAL QUESTIONS ON PAGE 108,
or
THE CREDIT QUESTIONS ON PAGE 113.

If you get those finished write up notes on the fair
trade foundation. (page 111, what are they? What
do they mean for developing countries)