Local steel fabricators are crying foul over the scarcity and escalating prices for raw materials.

Julius Mwase, a welder and steel fabricator in Kisenyi, Kampala, said the price of raw materials has significantly shot up.

"Fabricating steel products such as doors and windows before getting orders from clients is a bit tricky as you may fail to get potential buyers due to high prices," Mwase said.

He said a kg of scrap steel had increased from an average of sh2,300 to between sh2,700 and sh3,000.

"We are going through a hard time as the price for final products has to correspond with the increment in the price of materials, but customers are still hesitant to adjust," said Mwase.

Scrap steel dealers in Kisenyi are experiencing supply shortages with increased prices

Timothy Magezi, a fabricator of maize milling machines in Kisenyi, said with the current high prices for raw materials, they have reduced the stocks as they wait for the situation to normalize.

Siraje Mugisha, the managing director for BannaMityana Construction and Fabricators Company in Rubaga Division, said the increasing cost of raw materials was forcing many out of business.

He said the 1.2mm plain steel sheet of 4X8ft that used to cost about sh105,000 in the recent past had shot up to sh140,000.

The 1.2mm 20ft square pipe of 40X40mm has increased from an average of  sh32,000 to Sh45,000.

He said generally the cost of raw materials and operating costs has shot up by over 30% yet buyers' income is still static.

"When you take quotations for finished hardware products for a client like windows and doors, you can be embarrassed when you realise after one month that you can't get half of what you had anticipated from the money you received," said Mugusha.

He said the situation is forcing them to venture into another line of businesses like construction for sustainability.