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Moos as Kenya blocks Ugandan dairy products again

BE Editor 24th Jun, 2024 Trade Pedson Mumbere
Moos as Kenya blocks Ugandan dairy products again

Brookside Dairy Uganda, a subsidiary of a Kenyan company, is also frustrated over blockage of its exports to the country. NET photo


Top dairy exporters are bitter that Kenya has once again refused to grant them licenses to export their products to the lucrative market.

Benson Mwangi, the Brookside Dairy Uganda general manager, told journalists over the weekend that Ugandan farmers are incurring huge losses following a decision by the Kenyan authorities to reject more than 100 of their applications for import permits for dairy products from Uganda.

In February after Kenyan President William Ruto visited President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, hopes were high that the rubbing of shoulders between the two neighbours over exports and imports would ebb.

  • And again in May when President Museveni visited his Kenyan counterpart, a joint communique was issued pointing to the bolstering of bilateral relations the “for mutual prosperity and development” of the two countries.

However, Mwangi said that has not happened as trade relations between the two countries remain strained, with many Ugandan traders suffering from a continued ban on export permits for dairy products to Kenya.

"We were delighted to read the communique signed by the two countries when the two Heads of State met in Nairobi, as we believe it was key to unlocking trade barriers that have existed since March last year. However, a month later, we are yet to receive export permits for our long-life milk, which includes powder and ultra-high temperature (UHT) processed milk," Mwangi stated

  • Kenya has traditionally been a top market for Uganda’s dairy products, but the new trade restrictions have forced Kampala to seek alternative markets in North and West Africa.

However, the logistical challenges render the exports to those markets less competitive than to neighbouring countries.

Mwangi noted that the prolonged delay in the issuance of export permits by the Kenya Dairy Board had caused considerable disruption and had left dairy producers in a state of uncertainty.

Farmers and producers are now desperate for swift action from both governments to resolve the permit issue and restore trade flows.

In his State of the Nation Address on June 6, President Museveni stressed the notion of Pan-Africanism, which he said was one of the key pillars of the NRM political ideology.

  • “We need the East African market, we need the African market and we need the global market,” he said, adding that Uganda’s milk production for example, is now 5.3billion litres per year. “Who is to buy the extra 4.5 billion litres since the internal demand is only 800million litres?” He asked.
  • Ten years ago, Brookside Dairies, for which the Kenyatta family are the majority shareholders, bought a majority stake in the former Uganda Dairy Corporation, in which the Ugandan government also maintains a 49% shareholding.

It was hoped that this strategic partnership would make it easier for Uganda to export to Kenya, which has not happened, apparently.

The company recently laid off 250 of its Ugandan workforce in a move aimed at cutting its losses.

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