Shoppers primed to face Christmas meat shortage

As Christmas draws near, industry insiders predict that Ugandans will battle fiercely for the limited supply of meat.

This, they warn, could push whole sale prices up to Shs15,000 per kilogramme of beef due to high demand and low supply brought on by the recent outbreaks of anthrax as well as foot and mouth disease in parts of the country.

Other factors contributing to the high prices include the busy market during the holiday season, which encourages people to place large orders for meat. The holiday season typically marks a business boom, particularly for those in the meat industry.

In an attempt to obtain the meat that predominates dishes cooked during the festive season, a large number of people swarm this industry in hopes of splitting the deluge of cash from customers.

Retailers, supermarkets, lodging facilities, dining establishments, and meat exporters swarm abattoirs in search of safe meat in bulk.

This time around, the scramble is more difficult because buyers of the local delicacy are risk-averse to the health implications involved.

The supply chain is already impacted, according to industry players, as some areas like Kyotera, where anthrax was confirmed on November 29, in the Kabira, Kasasa, and Lwankoni sub-counties are cordoned off.

Anthrax outbreak

The district surveillance team believes that the anthrax outbreak in Kyotera District may have begun in June on a farm in Kkyamayembe Sub-county as a result of eating dead cow meat.

The victims displayed a range of symptoms, such as skin lesions, swelling, and an itchy rash. The first recorded human death was in early July, and by October 31, there had been 24 recorded animal deaths.

The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and the Kyotera District surveillance team collaborated to investigate the cases in Kabira Sub-county. On November 29, the national task force of the Ministry of Health (MoH) declared the anthrax outbreak in Kyotera a disaster after more samples were taken from a number of suspects, some of whom tested positive.

Twenty-five suspects, seven probable cases, 16 confirmed cases (including 13 fatalities), and three recoveries had all been reported cumulatively as of December 3.

Suspects were housed in isolation units, while cases were kept in treatment facilities, with some cases falling under the purview of the home-based care initiative, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

There were 50 animal deaths reported, however, the number of sick or suspected animals is unknown.

“Kyotera district is located to the south of central Uganda region and borders Tanzania at Mutukula, a high-volume commercial border town and, therefore, if the disease was not controlled and maintained, it could have culminated to a regional spread,” OCHA noted in a statement.

“There was also a high probability of other cases not reported to the health system,” it added.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested during a partner meeting with OCHA that some of the deaths may have been caused by gastroenteric anthrax, which has a higher case fatality rate, even though the MoH was not yet aware of the type of anthrax being observed.

Impact

Although it is not yet apparent, Mr Amos Tindyebwa, the managing director of Fresh Cuts Limited, one of the top meat processing companies in Uganda informed us that the disease outbreaks have already impacted the country’s supply of meat.

This is because meat processing companies and suppliers buy cattle from specific farms and hold them for approximately three months prior to the holiday season, protecting them from disease outbreaks and demand and supply fluctuations.

However, he stated that the impact on the nation’s ability to meet its meat needs would be negligible because the majority of the impacted areas produce meat primarily for export since they are on the border and in small amounts for the local market.

“This has an impact on companies like ours because, as exporters, we depend on supplies regardless of the state of the nation in order to generate significant profits for our ventures. As a result, during shortages, we struggle and suffer,” he stressed.

“Meanwhile, businesses in the meat business feel like they have seen this before and this replica is daunting because, somehow, even though there is so much scrutiny of meat that leaves these areas with veterinary professions, some leaks in the market through loopholes, which calls for public vigilance,” he added.

The nation’s meat suppliers contend that because the areas affected by foot and mouth disease and anthrax have long struggled with these illnesses, the Agriculture ministry should zone them and limit the flow of animals from those areas until the illnesses are completely eradicated.

Caution

The Kampala Butcher Association (KBA) gave its members advice last week to only purchase meat from officially recognised abattoirs, where animals undergo veterinary examinations prior to any cutting.

The association is attempting to guarantee that the general public buys normal, nutritious meat.

KBA chairman Mr Musa Senabulya pointed out that significant government initiatives have stopped the foot and mouth disease from spreading to other regions of the nation after quarantine and other treatment measures were put in place to stop the disease’s spread in the cattle districts of Sembabule and Kyotera.

Until the diseases are under control, officials in the aforementioned districts have prohibited the movement of animals and the sale of their byproducts, such as butter, yoghurt, and ghee.  Even in the impacted sub-counties such as Kinuuka, Kashagama, Kaliiro, Mpumude, and Lyakajura, pork and mutton are prohibited during the festive season.

The foot and mouth disease-stricken Lyantonde District veterinary doctor, Mr Ronald Bameka, informed this publication that they have already begun vaccination exercises in the affected areas.

The bulk of the country’s large restaurants, wholesalers, and markets get their beef from Kampala City Abattoir (KCA), which asserts that they continue to receive the same weekly average of 450 cattle as they did before the outbreak of cattle diseases.

They also stress that they have recently become extremely risk averse, hiring more veterinary doctors to test the cattle before they are slaughtered.

“We search for stamps on these cattle that indicate previous safety inspections from veterinary professionals in their home counties. It has come to our attention that the impacted regions export their cattle in smaller quantities than they supply to the national market. The majority of the cattle that we get come from Karamoja,” stated Mr Johnbosco Kiddu, the KCA chairman.

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