Uganda stuck with 23m litres of milk for export
Traders empty milk from a tank in Katwe, Kampala, in 2015. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Dr Akankiza said Kenya has capacity to absorb around 700 million liters of Uganda’s milk every year but only around 200 million litres of milk from the country is sold to Kenya annually.
The Dairy Development Authority (DDA) has revealed that milk processors in the country are stuck with more than 20 million litres of milk because Kenya limited importation from Uganda.
“The milk processors are stuck with about 24 million litres [of milk] currently. It is not like Kenya has issued a formal ban but this is through refusal of import permits which is a requirement for access to market,” said Dr Samson Akankiza Mpiira, the acting executive director of DDA.
He added: “So, you ask for 18 permits and they release 1 or 2. So, it appears the country is open [to importation of milk from Uganda]. But is this the expected volumes of trade? No.”
Dr Akankiza said Kenya has capacity to absorb around 700 million liters of Uganda’s milk every year but only around 200 million litres of milk from the country is sold to Kenya annually.
“That wouldn’t disturb market for their local farmers because they have deficit in production of 2.2 billion litres,” he said.
DDA data
According to statistics from DDA, the total milk production in the country is around 3.2 billion liters per year, a jump from around 1.9 billion litres in 2014.
But milk consumption in the country, according government statistics, has remained under 1 billlion liters per year, partly because some families cannot afford the price of milk and many also ignorant about the importance of taking milk.
Maj Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, said beside promoting local consumption through school milk-feeding programme, they will export to more countries due to Kenya’s restrictions.
“Most of the inputs we use in the country come from Kenya. For the example, you [Kenya] are selling me vaccines [for animals]. So, if you are not buying my milk, where do you think my milk will go? or if you are slow in buying my milk, don’t you think I can also become slow in buying inputs from you?” he said.
Maj Gen Kasura added: “Those who are slow in clearing imports from Uganda are playing with fire. They [Kenya] buy maize from our gardens.”
The permanent secretary said they got a market from Algeria.
“These people are coming to Uganda next week. Already, people are taking our milk there but we want to formalize it. There is a big market in Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. The Kenyan market is just historical but it not going to collapse our agriculture,” he added.
According to information from the DDA, other importers of Uganda’s milk include Egypt, United Arabs Emirates, Japan, Ehiopia and Tanzania. The DDA also indicated that the Algerian market deal would absorb around 1.4 billion liters of milk worth around 500 million dollars (Shs1.8 trillion). They didn’t specify the number of years.
Statistics from DDA also indicate that in 2021/2022 financial year, dairy exports bounced back at 102.6 million dollars (Shs379.6b) from 92.4 million dollars (Shs341.8b) in 2020/2021 financial year.
Dr Akankiza said that owing to restrictions in exportation to Kenya, limited export opportunities in other countries, and low local consumption, the gate price of milk is on the decline.
“The gate price of milk had stabilized at Shs1000 but it has gone down to Shs600 but in some areas that are hard to reach, it has gone down to even Shs400 per litre,” he said.
