Uganda: Blockade of Ugandan Milk On Agenda As Museveni Holds Talks With Ruto

14 August 2023
Nile Post (Kampala)
By Kenneth Kazibwe

President Museveni has held talks with his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto at State House in Entebbe.

A statement by State House, the two presidents who met on Sunday discussed a wide range of issues in regards bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

Sources privy to the matter say that the issue of the blockade of Ugandan milk by Kenya was high on agenda by the two leaders.

Kenya has insisted on the blockade of Ugandan milk going to their market .

Recently it was reported that whereas Kenya doesn't permit Ugandan products to cross their border, for those that had crossed are not allowed to be sold and trucks are asked to return home.

This state of affairs has seen at least 200 workers of Brookside Dairy Uganda lose their jobs as the company cut its production by 75% as it is no longer able to export the milk it produces.

The latest blockade is however blamed on the fight for supremacy between former president, Uhuru Kenyatta whose family own Brookside Dairies and his successor, Wiliam Ruto.

Whereas earlier, Kenya had lifted the ban on Ugandan milk, by the look of things, the ban seems to have been imposed again.

Kenya has been the biggest importer of Ugandan milk.

However, in order to overcome this impasse, Uganda seems to have started looking for alternative markets for her milk that has been blocked from entering the Kenyan market.

For example, in July, President Museveni courted his Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall to allow Ugandan milk into his country.

President Sall bought the idea and pledged to buy milk powder from Kampala.

"In Senegal, we import things from New Zealand and Brazil. We import powdered milk from these countries. We need to see how we can come and buy your milk,"Sall said.

Earlier, President Museveni had also asked Algeria to buy Ugandan milk.

"We have a lot of milk here. Please, come and buy our milk because I am told you import it from Europe,"Museveni told a Special Envoy from Algeria, Ramtane Lamamra who is also the North African country's Minister for Foreign Affairs last year.

This was followed by a visit to Algeria by the Ugandan president and several government officials.

Read the original article on Nile Post.

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