The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Trade, Industries and Cooperatives has sent a delegation to Tanzania for discussion on the latest sugar import ban. The delegation is led by State Minister for Cooperatives, Fredrick Ngobi Gume.
Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde says that they have not got clear reasons why Tanzania, last week withdrew sugar import licenses it had started issuing in December 2018.
Tanzania Agriculture Minister, Japhet Hasunga last week issued a statement of withdraw of sugar import licences.
“We have realized that sugar companies import sugar very fast, overlooking their role of producing; this is unacceptable, we think we should release them from importing sugar,” the minister was quoted saying.
Tanzania government, he said will breach strategies of boosting production to meet internal demand. The Minister said Tanzania has sufficient sugar supply up to May. He promised that temporally import permits will be issued thereafter to non-sugar producing companies to import between 25,000 and 28,000 tonnes of sugar.
In December, Tanzania agreed to give clearance to permits for importation of sugar and other agricultural produces from Uganda. The agreement was reached in a meeting between the Amelia Kyambadde and Joseph G. Kakunda, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment of Tanzania held at Mutukula One Stop Border Post Uganda side.
At the start of 2018, Tanzania government blocked export of Uganda’s sugar. This was after allegations emerged that Uganda imports sugar and it was repackaged and re-exported within the region.
A joint verification mission between Tanzania and Uganda was conducted from the 26th November to 1st December 2018. It revealed that Ugandan sugar millers do not import sugar. And that Uganda has surplus production.
“It was recommended that the Sugar wholly produced in Uganda, should be accorded EAC preferential treatment. United Republic of Tanzania agreed to grant Uganda’s sugar priority and preferential market access,” the ministers said in a statement after the border meeting.
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