Kampala beef prices up 25%
Feb 15, 2011
BEEF prices in Kampala have shot up after the authorities in Teso and Karamoja sub-regions imposed a quarantine restricting animal movement due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
By Samuel Sanya
BEEF prices in Kampala have shot up after the authorities in Teso and Karamoja sub-regions imposed a quarantine restricting animal movement due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
The disease is contagious and affects livestock. It is spread through contact with infected animals.
David Mutebi, the secretary for operations at the City Abattoir, said a kilogramme of beef was sh4,000 in November, but now costs sh5,000, a 25% increase when buying in bulk at the abattoir, due to the reduced supply of cattle.
“At the time the quarantine was imposed, we used to slaughter about 400 head of cattle daily, but now we slaughter between 200 and 300,†Mutebi said.
But those buying beef for home consumption will have to dig deeper into their pockets as the retail prices of beef range from sh5,500 and sh6,000 around the city. The quarantine has affected Moroto, Soroti, Kumi, Katakwi and Amuria districts, forcing cattle markets to close.
The shortage has been worsened by increased exports of cattle to southern Sudan, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Kenya, where traders get better returns.
The Teso sub-region is one of the leading providers of cattle to the city abattoirs, and a major determinant of the prices of beef products, according to market observers. The Uganda Bureau of Standards 2008 livestock census report indicated that Uganda had about 11.4 million cattle, compared to Tanzania’s 33 million and 40 million in Kenya.
By 2008, Uganda had 12.5 million goats, 3.4 million sheep, 3.2 million pigs and 37.4 million poultry. Meat production in Uganda stands at 142,000 tonnes, with beef contributing 107,000, goat meat 28,000 and mutton 5,000.
The national per capita consumption of meat is 6kg, which is below the 50kg recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UN health agency, WHO.
In the 2008/09 financial year, the agriculture sector accounted for 24% of the gross domestic product, with the livestock industry contributing at 3%.
The hike in beef prices comes at a time when food prices have also tripled due to drought in various parts of the country.
This is likely to cause hunger and famine, dragging Uganda behind in efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty before 2015. The forecast of prices are also likely to exacerbate concerns about food price volatility situation that hit the country in 2008.
It also comes at a time when fuel prices have escalated, raising transportation costs and weakening the local currency. This is likely to cause inflationary pressures on the economy.
BEEF prices in Kampala have shot up after the authorities in Teso and Karamoja sub-regions imposed a quarantine restricting animal movement due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
The disease is contagious and affects livestock. It is spread through contact with infected animals.
David Mutebi, the secretary for operations at the City Abattoir, said a kilogramme of beef was sh4,000 in November, but now costs sh5,000, a 25% increase when buying in bulk at the abattoir, due to the reduced supply of cattle.
“At the time the quarantine was imposed, we used to slaughter about 400 head of cattle daily, but now we slaughter between 200 and 300,†Mutebi said.
But those buying beef for home consumption will have to dig deeper into their pockets as the retail prices of beef range from sh5,500 and sh6,000 around the city. The quarantine has affected Moroto, Soroti, Kumi, Katakwi and Amuria districts, forcing cattle markets to close.
The shortage has been worsened by increased exports of cattle to southern Sudan, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Kenya, where traders get better returns.
The Teso sub-region is one of the leading providers of cattle to the city abattoirs, and a major determinant of the prices of beef products, according to market observers. The Uganda Bureau of Standards 2008 livestock census report indicated that Uganda had about 11.4 million cattle, compared to Tanzania’s 33 million and 40 million in Kenya.
By 2008, Uganda had 12.5 million goats, 3.4 million sheep, 3.2 million pigs and 37.4 million poultry. Meat production in Uganda stands at 142,000 tonnes, with beef contributing 107,000, goat meat 28,000 and mutton 5,000.
The national per capita consumption of meat is 6kg, which is below the 50kg recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UN health agency, WHO.
In the 2008/09 financial year, the agriculture sector accounted for 24% of the gross domestic product, with the livestock industry contributing at 3%.
The hike in beef prices comes at a time when food prices have also tripled due to drought in various parts of the country.
This is likely to cause hunger and famine, dragging Uganda behind in efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty before 2015. The forecast of prices are also likely to exacerbate concerns about food price volatility situation that hit the country in 2008.
It also comes at a time when fuel prices have escalated, raising transportation costs and weakening the local currency. This is likely to cause inflationary pressures on the economy.