Ban on meat pushes prices of fish and beans in Nebbi

Nebbi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The recent ban on the sale of meat in Nebbi district has increased the demand for fish, silverfish and beans in the market.

Two weeks ago, Nebbi district authorities suspended the sale of meat and animal products following an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). According to officials in the veterinary department, the first FMD cases were reported in the Kucwiny sub-county, Lee Parish, towards the end of November last year, where 26 animals were confirmed dead in the early stages of the outbreak.

Traders dealing in Fish, and silverfish say that the ban has given them an added opportunity to reap big from the sales of fish in the market which has increased their cash flows than before the outbreak of FDM.

The fish dealers have hiked the price of their commodities, doubling the initial price of fish and silverfish in the market.

Patrick Onoba fresh fish dealer in Nebbi main market says, that within one month, the price of fish has increased from 14,000 Shillings to 18,000 per kilo.

Beatrice Acen, a silverfish dealer in Nebbi town says,  she used to sell two basins of silverfish almost a week before the ban but, these days, she can as well sell four basins of silverfish in two days.

Before the ban was imposed, a plastic cup of silverfish cost 1500 Shillings, but now it’s sold at 2,000 Shillings, almost double the price.

The market price for a piece of small fish in the market before the ban was 3,000 Shillings, but it has skyrocketed to 6,000 Shillings, meanwhile, big fish such as Angara that used to be sold at 20,000 Shillings is now sold at 25,000 to 30,000 Shillings respectively.   “We are enjoying the profit margins because there’s no room for maximum bargaining with our customers since there are not many competitions following a ban on sales of meat”,  Onoba said.

Dr William Abedkane  District Veterinary Officer Nebbi says the district is still monitoring the spread of FMD because some cases are being reported in Paminya Akwecira neighbouring Oweko  Parish, Ndhew Sub-county making it hard to uplift the quarantine.

He warned that anybody found selling animal products before the lifting of quarantines will be dealt with according to the Public Health Act because some cases are still being reported.

“We can’t lift quarantine when the district is receiving some cases of FDM but we do encourage the farmers to restrict the movement of their livestock and report any suspicious signs of FDM for management”, Abedkane said.

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