Traders and producers of Dairy Products in Uganda have decried the delay and non-issuance of export permits by the Kenya Dairy Board.
They say that some processors are not getting the permits at all, questioning the criteria Kenya Dairy Board is using to award the permits.
These claim that the board is intentionally and indirectly regulating the products being exported to the country.
Musafari Hamidu, a truck driver of one of the leading milk companies in Uganda, says that initially, each milk processor would get permits for five trucks a day through the Kenyan border although right now, only a few trucks can be cleared for an entire week.
“As a truck driver, I have been rendered idle because most times, I am seated for close to a week waiting for the permits’ clearance before milk products can be loaded onto my truck from the factories,” he said.
The traders want the government and the private sector to further engage the Kenyan government to allow the free movement of the products as the prohibition is not only affecting the production but also leading to losses.
Kenya has been the leading buyer of Uganda’s milk products although the trade relations have not been consistent due to several barriers, prompting Uganda to search for new markets for its milk and milk products.
On March 6, 2023, Kenya Dairy Board issued a statement stating that the Government of Kenya had stopped the importation of milk powders to cushion the industry from surplus production and low producer prices.
Consequently, the Kenya Dairy Board said that it would monitor the production and demand for milk and milk products in the country and advise its Government accordingly.
This announcement directly reinstated the 2021 ban on Ugandan milk products importation into Kenya which went against Kenyan President William Ruto’s directive to lift a ban on Ugandan agricultural produce such as milk, eggs and chicken.
This followed a meeting between President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Kenyan Trade Minister Kuria Moses in Kampala, in late January 2023.
On 14th March 2023, Kenya’s Agriculture and Livestock Development Permanent Secretary, Harry Kimtai, announced the suspension of the ban on milk powder imports from Uganda.
The Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) had earlier protested the ban on Uganda’s diary imports by Kenya.
According to Uganda’s Dairy Development Authority, the country has established new markets for its milk which include the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Zambia and Algeria. Others are; United Arab Emirates, Syria, Japan, Oman, USA, Nepal and Bangladesh.