UFPEA new boss wants govt help

Oct 17, 2004

Yogesh Grover (right), is the new chairman of the Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association (UFPEA), a body which promotes the fisheries sector.

Yogesh Grover (right), is the new chairman of the Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association (UFPEA), a body which promotes the fisheries sector. He is also the director of Uganda Marine Products Limited, a fish processing and exporting firm in Kanyanya, Kampala. He spoke to Kiganda Ssonko about UFPEA’s achievement, challenges and plans. Below are excerpts:


Question: As UFPEA’s new boss, how do you plan to boost the fish sector?
Answer: Our emphasis will be on value-added products and fish farming in order to increase revenue. The success of these means having a strong fish sector with the potential to increase the country’s revenue by 20% or more every year, from around $90m currently to $110m by 2005.
About fish farming, people should think beyond natural water bodies and look into caged or pond fish farming. However, some fish companies have started fish farming projects in tilapia and catfish. A lot could be gained from fish if we develop much more value-added items than merely exporting fillets. We are already looking into portions, stakes, burgers and other semi-cooked products.

What problems does the sector face and what should the Government do to solve them?
We pay very high freight charges while exporting compared to Kenya and Tanzania, yet we sell in the same market. This makes us uncompetitive. The Civil Aviation Authority should allow Russian Antinovs to land at Entebbe International Airport because they are cheaper. This would be a great incentive to our exports.
Uganda is also faced with a problem of encroachment on water bodies by fishermen in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Government should put in place a strict patrol team to combat beyond-boarder fishing.
The Government should set up a modern fish-farming project to boost private companies. Such a project could be used to teach farmers modern farming skills.
The sector lacks a laboratory equipped to international standards. We currently use Chemiphar Limited, which is a private company. We need another laboratory for fish products because our markets require high standards.

What is the performance of the Uganda Marine Products Limited?
We are planning to increase our production from 15 tonnes of fish per day to 35 metric tonnes from December. The company recently got an International Standards Organisation (ISO) 14001:1996 and received its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, a fish and fisheries products hazards and controls guidance verified under the standard DC 3027 E: 2002. It already had ISO 9001:2000 so it becomes the first company in East Africa to achieve the three quality certificates.

Besides, government is soon coming up with a national fish policy, we are hoping that it’s designed in a way that would not offend the stakeholders in the industry. Also, we want the government to speed up the African Development Bank (ADB) project for landing sites for further development.

How is your company, Uganda Marine Products Limited doing in processing and exports?
This Company is doing quiet well, we make substantial production every months which meet the international health standards. Now we are working on increasing our production from 15 tones of fish per day now 35 metric tones starting with December 2004, after injecting over $1m in the whole business. The company recently got an ISO 14001:1996 and received its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), a fish and fisheries products hazards and controls guidance verified under the standard DC 3027 E: 2002. It already had ISO 9001:2000 so it becomes the first company in East Africa to achieve all the three quality certificates.

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