Uganda’s President Lifts Restrictions To Boost Trade And Rein In Borrowing

The eastern African country of Uganda has resolved to pay closer attention to boosting exports of meat and dairy and as a means of reducing borrowing.

President Yoweri Museveni, told news correspondents that the country would be lifting restrictions brought on by covid-19, to enable it to work on improving its export opportunities.

The decision comes at the heel of several years of reduced Chinese lending to the continent as well as the expiration of programs designed to offer relief to indebted countries as they recover from COVID 19-induced collapse.

Museveni said he wanted to expand the country’s meat, leather, and dairy trade and add value to other agricultural exports such as coffee, one of Uganda’s main foreign exchange-earners.

“We don’t import milk, we don’t import beef, we have now built a leather industry for the shoes,” Museveni said.

In 2009, apart from the state-owned Dairy Corporation, a major dairy company in Uganda produced nearly 700 million liters of milk.  In recent times, thanks to improved feed, training and investment in 14 private dairy companies, the Ugandan Dairy Development Authority says the country produced 2.81 bln liters last year.

Museveni’s son-in-law, a businessman and senior presidential adviser, Odrek Rwabwogo,  said Uganda “only consumes about 800 million liters and is looking for markets for the excess”.

According to Rwabwogo, Uganda has also recently begun exporting meat to the Democratic Republic of Congo and China and wants to partner with the European Union, Britain, or other potential importers to ensure import quality standards could be met.

Uganda wants to expand regional trade, but many barriers remain despite there being a free trade agreement in the region.

The country used to sell lots of milk to neighbor Kenya, but Kenya restricted sales in 2019 and Uganda’s milk exports are now 50% of what they used to be before the curbs.

Uganda says the restrictions were imposed due to concern about cheap imports despite the regional free trade treaty.