The prolonged drought has affected pineapple farming in Uganda leading to a sharp increase in consumer prices.

A mini survey by Business Power around Kampala city markets revealed that the general supply of fresh pineapples has drastically dropped.

Pineapple traders say they are experiencing an acute scarcity of the fruit moreover it is the peak of the season, which runs from June to late.

Ms Mary Nanyanzi, a trader at St. Balikudembe market [Owino], said 100 small-sized pineapples are currently selling at Shs80,000 up from Shs45,000 in early June.

"We used to buy those small pineapples [three] for Shs1,000 at Nakasero Market but now we buy each at Shs800 and sell them at Shs1,000," she added.

At Nakasero Market, which is the chief supplier of pineapples to the surrounding markets like Owino, Kibuye, Kalerwe and Wandegeya, the prices of the fruit ranges from Shs1,500 to Shs3,500 depending on the size and quality while other market prices range from Shs1,000 to Shs3,000 for different sizes.

According to Mr Joseph Nkubuge, a fruit dealer at Nakasero Market, last week told Business Power that the wholesale price now has shot from Shs800 per pineapple to Shs1,200-1,500 in Masaka, Bugerere and Luweero where he purchases from.

He attributed the rise in prices to drought, high transport costs and taxes paid to Kampala City Council [KCC] taking into consideration that these pineapples are grown far from the city.

"It costs me Shs300,000 to transport 2,500- 3,000 pieces of pineapple from Masaka to Kampala every week. I also have to pay taxes [Shs10,350 per month]. So it is not surprising that sometimes the prices remain almost constant regardless of the farm-gate prices," Mr Nkubuge said.

Pineapple traders also say there is a high demand of pineapples in Southern Sudan [Juba] and Kenya. Mr Nkubuge said traders face a lot of competition from these external markets because they offer 'better' prices.

Traders in the markets of Owino and Kubuye who blame Nakasero traders for the unnecessarily increase in the price of the fruit.

Ms Nanyanzi said prices could go down but their suppliers [traders at Nakasero] are always increasing prices because they are sure of sales.

"Our suppliers increase prices almost every week because they know we have to buy. This has also made us increase prices to make some profit," Ms Nanyanzi said.

The Horticultural Exporters Association estimates that pineapples formed the bulk of the $9.4 million (about Sh18 billion) export earnings for Uganda last year.

Mr John Mukisa, a pineapple farmer in Mukono, said his harvests have dropped this year by almost 50 per cent. He blamed the fall on the prolonged drought and unreliable rainfall especially during the flowering stages.

"The rains came late, there was a long interval and it was worse during the flowering stages. From my 20-acre piece of land, I used to harvest around 1,000 pineapples every season but this time I have harvested between 350 and 400 pineapples, which were of very low quality," Mr Mukisa said.

Mr Mukisa is, however, optimistic that the situation would improve with the coming rains. "By the end of this month, pineapple supply will have increased because it is raining," he said.

According to statistics from Uganda Export Promotion Board [UEPB], the level of export increased from 333,628 kilogrammes that earned the country $477,445 in 2007 to 2,915,598 kilogrammes in 2008.