The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Mbarara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Over 1,500 employees at Pearl Dairy Farms Lts have been laid off, almost a year after the company stopped exporting milk and milk products to Kenya.
The yet unresolved trade Uganda-Kenya trade war, first in the dairy sector, and recently with maize, plus the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, have left many exporters, including Pearl Dairy, struggling to survive.
Pearl Dairies Limited, the processors of Lato Milk, stopped full-scale production at the height of a milk war with Kenya at the beginning of 2020, and are not certain when conditions will get back to the previous normal.
Early last year, Kenyan authorities started confiscating imported Ugandan milk and turning away trucks on grounds that the milk had been smuggled into the country without paying taxes, thereby depressing local prices.
The move followed a surge in volumes of imported milk from Uganda amidst complaints that the country had no capacity to export such huge quantities to Kenya.
Milk imported from within East African Community member states had hit 110.7 million litres by September 2019, from just three million litres in 2016. Pearl Diaries exported most of its processed milk to Kenya.
While the company was still struggling to deal with the ban, the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced countries to close their borders and announce lockdowns to keep the virus at bay.
This meant that Pearl Dairy Farms, which was taking at least 400,000 litres per day, from farmers for processing, could no longer maintain the pace.
Farm-gate prices crashed and the price per litre of Milk dropped from 1200 to 800 Shillings. The diaries were selling at 1200 per litre from 1600, a fall of 400 Shillings for every litre.
Seth Devendra, the Managing Director of Pearl Dairy Farms says that the production capacity of the farm dropped to less than 25 per cent, critically affecting its income. He adds that with such problems, the company could not sustain its wage bill and related expenses.
Ezra Agaba, one of the affected employees says he was asked to stay home for the month and has not been recalled despite completing a month away from the job.
Moses Kijoma, a milk lab attendant says he has since faced numerous domestic challenges as a result of not earning.
Uganda produces 2.6 billion litres of milk per annum. However, about 800 million litres are consumed on the domestic Market leaving the surplus for the international market.
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Looks.like.you have not captured the full story of Uganda’s agricultural and industrialization sectors. The reasons given may not sound convincing but a closer look will reveal the behind the scenes games that take place at these core economic sectors. I got surprised last month when farmers in India kept on the streets for almost two months protesting policies that are hailed as progressive in Uganda. And if you noticed corrupt well connected middlemen who set up factories that are clearly mean t to frustrate already existing ones. Look at sugar, plastics, steel works,mattress and many others. They hardly can survive. What became of Ra milk based in mbarara. What tax concessions did the companies get. What value did they add on our stunted industrial sector? What of Bakojja cheese and mulwanas dairy enterprises. Therse coupled with a non functioning chamber of commerce have kept Uganda in pre Colo ial age
Hello team,
thanks for sharing informative details with us.
regards. Bharat
I love the good products produced by Pearl dairies , I am a procurement officer and wish to join pearl dairies . Notify me in case of any opportunity .Thx
I love the good products produced by Pearl dairies because I have used lato milk for many years , I am a procurement officer and wish to join pearl dairies . Notify me in case of any opportunity .Thx