CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Peter Bahemuka, Uganda, October 1998
THEME = ECONOMY
Uganda's non-traditional exports, both high value crops and fresh
water-fish,
are making the most of the liberalised economy and diversification of exports,
and look well positioned in the international markets
to continue earning millions of dollars for the country.
In 1987, Uganda, desperate to breath life into its moribund economy, liberalised the marketing of agricultural produce and diversified agricultural exports. Taking advantage of the international market, Uganda focused its attention on revitalising the production of high-value agricultural crops for which it has a comparative advantage.
Notable among the high value export products are fish, vanilla, passion fruit, sesame, apple, banana, black pepper, ginger, chilies, flowers, avocado, okra, pineapples, strawberries, cardamom and sugar cane, all of which are suited to Uganda's soil, climate and smallholding farming system. The improvements in the air cargo handling facilities at Entebbe International Airport, has made it easier for those products to be exported without delays.
Fresh water fish exports have registered yearly increments since 1992, and in 1995 a staggering 9,300 tonnes were recorded, up nearly 2,500 tonnes from 6,810 tonnes in 1994. This netted about US $17.54 million. There were 13 operational fish processing firms in 1996, with capacities of 370 metric tonnes per day, compared to only three in 1990. In 1996, 16,396 tonnes of fish products were exported, generating over US $39.7 million.
The fish exporting plants are exporting to European Union (EU) countries, upon compliance with the strict standards required by the sensitive EU market, the Middle East and African countries. Major consumer markets are France, Belgium, Italy and Holland. France leads the pack with a weekly airlift of over 30 tonnes of fish products from Entebbe International Airport by Air France.
The ban on Ugandan fish to the EU, imposed in December 1997, was lifted on 1 July 1998, and fish exports to the EU resumed with a weekly average of 180 metric tonnes worth US $576,000. In June 1998, Uganda was categorised in Group II of the fish exporting countries. Now, two local fish firms have landed lucrative orders from Germany worth over US $26.6 million annually, exported the August/September 1998 issue of the Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB) export bulletin. The two fish exporters, Byansi Fisheries Ltd and Greenfields (U) Ltd, obtained orders for 160 metric tonnes per week, worth US $512,000 Free On Board (FOB) at Entebbe.
They were selected during a Fish 1998 International Sea Food Show which took place in Bremen, Germany, 5-8 June 1998. Byansi Fisheries made about 45 contacts, 20 of which were serious, while Greenfields made 60 contacts, 10 of which were immediately useful. The companies had been identified by Dr.John Kennedy, a fish consultant, who was sent to Uganda to study the fish sector and identify companies to be sponsored by the German government.
That aside, up to 10,431 tonnes of sesame seeds, worth over US $7.33 million were exported in 1996, up from 8,948 tonnes in 1995. Sesame seeds worth more than US $8.9 million were exported in 1997.
The story of flowers is even more encouraging. Uganda has a comparative advantage over other producers in terms of capital input, unit and freight costs. Given Uganda's climate, producers have the capability of producing more rose stems per square metre than Kenya, for example. While the Dutch and Kenyan rose farmers require US $108.50 and US $29.56 respectively, Ugandan farmers require US $27.68 per square metre to set up a farm. Whereas the Dutch and Kenyan farmers operational costs, are US $50.70 and US$39.93 respectively, Uganda's operational costs are advantageously below US $30 per square metre.
For the year 1996, over 4,312 tonnes of cut flowers were exported, earning US 3.48 million. However, Uganda still suffers from inconsistency in quality of exports, which fetch prices below Kenya's. Farmers will have to work hard to solve this problem by increasing rose stem lengths and bud size, as well as post-harvest handling and management.
Another interesting story is that of vanilla, a fleshy, herbaceous perennial vine of the orchid family, an origin of Central America. Today, vanilla is used both commercially and domestically as flavouring for sweet foods and beverages, in addition to the manufacture of perfumes, as opposed to its traditional use of flavouring hot chocolate drink.
In 1992, premium grade cured vanilla fetched about US $72 per kilogramme on the world market, and the demand for top quality cured vanilla continues to grow. In 1990, Uganda exported only one tonne of cured vanilla to the USA, but at that time, it was envisaged that within 10 years, Uganda would be producing between 100 to 150 tonnes of vanilla annually by up to 4,000 producers, earning an annual average of US $7.5 million.
There has been renewed interest in natural vanilla by international flavour houses, as a result of reluctancy among consumers to buy food products with synthetic vanilla ingredients made from wood pulp extracts, which had been popularised in the 1970s as the price of vanilla rose. This has spurred the comeback of natural vanilla and Uganda's re-entry in the selling international vanilla market to compete with Madagascar, Reunion and the Comoros Islands, the three major producers.
Since about 90% of Uganda's population lives on agriculture, at least 70% of which is smallholder farming, vanilla can be inter- cropped with other crops without affecting yields. An average smallholder would have an average of 200 vanilla plants on a plot that is less than a fifth of a hectare, each yielding up to 120 beans per year. Farmers earn at least US $4, the international market price for a kilogramme of uncured vanilla beans. An average of five kilograms of ripe beans are required to obtain one kilogramme of cured beans.
Concerning passion fruit, called locally obutunda, this is a fruit that is more plentiful in Uganda than many other fruit. Like vanilla, this fruit is inter-cropped with tree crops, but has a faster maturity rate. Proclaimed as a fruit with curative qualities, passion fruit is largely wasted through irrational domestic consumption, and ignored by many as a fruit with a lucrative market abroad.
This purple variety is most popular both locally and in international markets. A kilogramme of passion fruit fetches an average of US $4 in Europe. The advantage for Uganda is that entry into the highly sensitive European market is tariff-free under the Lome Convention. Considering the widespread availability of the fruit in Uganda, its increased exportation can reap millions of shillings for the farming community provided the desired quality is met.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement