Milk prices drop by 50%

Ms Patricia Musiime used to buy two litres of milk at the beginning of the year. She gradually decreased it to one litre then finally resorted to black tea as she could not afford the milk.

Kampala
Ms Patricia Musiime used to buy two litres of milk at the beginning of the year. She gradually decreased it to one litre then finally resorted to black tea as she could not afford the milk.

“The prices had really hiked. A litre was at Shs2,500 that means I had to spend Shs5,000 for two litres. That’s impossible,” she said.
However, there is hope now that it is raining milk in the producing areas of western Uganda. Milk prices have dropped by 50 per cent since the rains started in October.

“I could not believe it when the price of milk reduced to Shs1,000 from Shs2,500. This is a big drop. Am excited now that I can afford milk again,” the beaming Ms Musiime, a teacher by profession, said.

It seems like a trend as statistics from Uganda Bureau of Standards shows that there is always a standard rise in the milk prices between the months of August to October (because of the dry season) and then a fall in November to January (when the rains are due) although this year has been exceptional save for other years. The drought hit heard and many animals succumbed to hunger.

Formerly at Shs500, farm gate prices in Western Uganda (which is the biggest milk producing area in Uganda) have gone down to Shs300. August statistics shows that a litre of fresh milk rose from Shs1,300 in July to Shs1,500 in the central region.

In south western Uganda, milk production dropped by half of the normal supply in the month of August, due to the prolonged drought.