KAMPALA - Uganda has up to December 31 to
improve the quality of fruits and vegetables exported to Europe or
suffer a ban.
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A fruit
farmer picks passion fruits in Luwero (File
Photo). | In a bid to
salvage the situation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal
Industry and Fisheries is desperately looking for Shs 3 billion to
finance an emergency programme to improve the quality of these
products.
He
said his ministry would raise Shs1.5 billion. Government, through
the ministry of Finance, is expected to provide the
balance.
At
stake is the millions of dollars Uganda earns from the export of
pineapples, mangoes, oranges, passion fruits, cabbages and
sugarcane to Europe.
Dr
Kisamba Mugerwa, the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and
Fisheries, said he needed the money for a mass sensitisation
campaign of the farmers, inspection of export companies and
establishment of export promotion villages.
He
said he had already received several verbal communications from
the European Union over the deteriorating quality of these
products.
As a
long-term strategy, the ministry plans to sub-divide the country
into agricultural zones to produce a particular product to ensure
effective monitoring.
The
program has started in Wakiso, Mpigi, Luwero, Mukono, Kasese and
Kamuli.
“What
we want is to have a particular region producing a particular
product for proper monitoring. For example if we realise that
there is a problem with jack fruits we know where to go,” he
said.
The
ministry will enlist the support of local and foreign private
firms to save the market for Uganda’s products. The ministry of
Tourism, Trade and Industry will take charge of the verification
of the quality of all the exports.
“We
shall work in conjunction with international companies, by
attaching them to local exporters,” he said.
Exporters will be required to indicate where a particular
product was picked.
He
warned that exporters who fail to adhere to the new guidelines
would be banned.
“We
shall do it the way we handled the issue of fish. Fruits exporting
companies will be concerned with quality since they may loose
business,” Mugerwa said.
Three
years ago, the European Union banned fish imports from the East
African region including Uganda in which the country lost billions
of shillings in export revenue.
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