EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius has millions to give away. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

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EU gives coffee exporter Uganda €40 million to help it comply with forest policy

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The EU has given Uganda a 40 million euro grant to help Africa’s largest coffee exporter comply with a new EU policy that bars imports of commodities whose production resulted from forest destruction, the Ugandan presidency said.

The grant was announced by Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries , as he paid a visit to President Yoweri Museveni, according to a statement sent by the president’s office late on Tuesday.

Uganda’s forest cover plummeted from 24 per cent of the country’s total area in 1990 to 9 per cent in 2015 due to the rampant cutting of trees to feed soaring demand for cropland and wood fuel but aggressive reforestation has since reversed some of the losses.