Consumers caught up in Masaka milk price war 

Each group is accusing the other of exploiting their unsuspecting clients.

In a June 9 petition to city authorities, MCMTA members also accused their competitors of selling milk from areas hit by livestock diseases.

“The market has been infiltrated by unlicensed middlemen who operate on streets, leading to unfair competition with known dairy operators who pay trading licence fees to the city council,” a petition signed by Ms Muliisa reads in part.

“It is unreasonable that someone [milk dealers] can sell a litre of milk for as low as Shs1, 000 in such a dry season. This should raise suspicion about such dealers and where they get their milk from, moreover in large volumes,” the petition adds.

However, Mr Kuhabwa insists their business rivals are simply fighting a price war, which erupted when they entered the market with quality and affordable milk, saving clients from exploitation. 

Before entering the market, Mr Kuhabwa claimed that most of the milk, which was being sold in the area, was adulterated, with dealers adding water or other elements.

“For us we sell a litre of milk at Shs1,000 compared to Shs1,600 being charged by our rivals. Their focus is to make huge profits yet for us we pride in serving our clients better, that is why people have deserted them and are buying from us ,” he said during an interview on Tuesday.

Mr Edward Akandwanaho, who owns a milk shop  in Kumbu on Masaka-Kyotera road, said  residents  no longer buy milk from him as they all shifted to the new dealers.

“People walk from Kumbu to Masaka  Town; some send boda bodas to collect milk leaving us here, some of us are about to close because we can’t compete with that price [of Sh1,000 litre],” he said.

He noted that the new milk dealers sells at the farm gate, and wondered  how members of Ever Fresh Dairy /Bwera Farmers’ Cooperative Society earn   profits.

Leaders sucked in

The price war has drawn the attention of the Masaka City senior commercial officer, Mr Ronald Joseph Mugerwa, who in a June 29 letter, wrote to members of the cooperative, revoking their trade licence. He accused the cooperative of failing to follow a number of procedural processes while acquiring the licence.

Mr Mugerwa said in the letter added that members of the cooperative did not make an official application to operate in the city as required under Section 10&11(1) of the Trade Licencing Act CAP 101.

Since members of the cooperative receive many clients who turn up to buy cheap milk at their outlets, Mr Mugerwa said such people don’t follow Covid-19 standard operating procedures, which expose them to contracting  coronavirus.

“Basing on the above facts, Section 11(3) the Trading Licencing Act Cap 101 mandates me  to revoke the licence and allow the trader follow the procedures of operating business in Masaka City. The business should immediately be closed to allow the trader formalise and also address the concerns of the association,” the letter reads further.

But Mr Kuhabwa insists they followed all the processes to start the milk business in the city, and accused Mr Mugerwa of being used by their business rivals.  “Our detractors are bad traders who are afraid of competition, which is normal in a liberalised economy; let them embrace competition and we move,” he said. Mr Kuhabwa added that neither the complainants nor the city council authorities have  the mandate  to regulate milk prices, noting that customers should be left to have a variety of milk suppliers to choose from.

“Let those people know that we are fully registered with the regulatory body, which is Dairy Development Authority (DDA),” he said.

Mr Kuhabwa noted that through the cooperative, they currently sell 3,000 litres of milk daily in Masaka City alone because their milk has zero water content and is kept in safe facilities.

According to DDA website, the gate price of a litre of milk in central region is at Shs850, as of May 2021, while the retail price is Shs1,800 per  litre .

Mr Achilles Mawanda, the deputy mayor of Masaka City, said he received a petition from members of MCMTA and they are studying their concerns in order to engage the two warring groups.

What consumers say

Mr Danson Tumukunde, who regularly buys milk from the cooperative, advised city authorities not to antagonise their supplier, saying their milk is not only good but also low-priced.

“I have been in Masaka for six years, but I  had never bought milk with fat content (cream); by the time the milk gets to the final consumer, the fat content is already  removed by unscrupulous dealers who also add water, but  these new people are selling good milk,” he says.

“Why are they [city authorities] antagonising those giving us quality milk at a relatively lower price? If their outlets are shut down, we shall stage a demonstration,” Ms Sandra Nakitto, a milk consumer in Soweto Village, Masaka City, said.