Prime
Uganda’s meat export market under threat
Meat on sale. Uganda’s beef industry is facing quality and organisational challenges. File photo
What you need to know:
Market development
The Uganda Modern Halal Abattoir is being set up at Nakirebe, 17km along the Kampala-Masaka road, by Iran-registered Halal Meat Co Ltd, supported by the Uganda Investment Authority. It is a joint venture of the governments of Uganda and Iran.
The project’s objectives are to encourage quality improvement in the livestock sector, promotion of meat production for both the local market and for export and value addition.
The first phase of the project will be completed in 18 months and will directly employ 130 people and benefit thousands of others involved in the livestock sector across the country.
Uganda’s hopes of developing the country’s meat industry now hang in balance following the breach of a key export deadline. If appropriate measures had been taken, Uganda would started exporting its meat to the European Union and Middle East by 2011.
In 2007, Uganda partnered with the Norwegian government with an aim of developing the industry as it sought to venture into the lucrative overseas market the country’s dreams have been hurt by bureaucracy.
Nortura BA, a Norwegian meat- company, which was to assist Ugandan meat dealers to develop the industry with the hope of exporting. Mr Sam Kizito in an interview with Prosper said: “There were misunderstandings within the ministry regarding, which region to start with, which is why we do not have disease control centres till now. This negatively impacted on the country’s livestock.”
In the partnership, Nortura BA was among other things supposed establish cooperatives amongst the farmers to boost production of quality meat; control disease spreading which is a major challenge to the industry and also set-up modern abattoirs in the different districts in the cattle corridor.
Currently the most worrying issue about the industry is the dwindling number of livestock due to the high mortality rate, which has seen many animals die at a tender age mainly from various diseases.
He says, out of the close to 13 million heads of cattle in the country, 10 per cent of them die before maturity stage.
“This leaves many ranches cleared of animals, thus hindering our would be export potential,” Mr Kizito said. Experts say, the meat consumed within the country and the little exported comes from a small fraction of farmers who are committed to producing animals for meat.
The remaining 92 per cent are cattle keepers who want to either keep their cattle for other domestic use, prestige or for milk.
It is believed between the years 2000-2007, the meat market was attractive as it was growing, faster than production which is not the case today. “The market is no longer big and it is not growing as fast, yet the cost of maintaining these animals is very expensive,” Mr Kizito told Prosper.
In 2008, in a census by Uganda National Bureau of Statistics recorded about 13 million heads of cattle but out of them, less than a quarter is put out for sale. This too has had its negative effect the development of the industry.
This is why even in the East African region, Uganda’s meat production is rated lowest, at 8 per cent.
What is more disturbing is that government has not conducted any research and there are inadequate efforts going towards improvement of the local breeds.
Mr Kizito said: “Even the few animals we have today that can be proudly talked about are the imported breeds like the Burans and Friesians. All our local breeds are almost extinct”. He attributes this to lack of incentives which has denied the country demonstration farms, breeding ranches, pesticides and disease control measures.
However, hope is not all lost as the private companies like Top Cuts, Fresh Cuts and Ugachic have managed to penetrate the regional export market with some modest exports.
The low export rate compared to other regions is also blamed on the poor state of the abattoirs.
Ugandan abattoirs have been rated among the poorest in hygiene and the slaughter houses’ conditions leave a lot to be desired.
