Exports still stuck at Entebbe airport
ENTEBBE Airport is still stranded with produce worth billions of shillings despite the lifting of the ban on flights to Europe.Normal cargo flights to the continent are set to resume on May 7.
By Macrines Nyapendi
ENTEBBE Airport is still stranded with produce worth billions of shillings despite the lifting of the ban on flights to Europe.Normal cargo flights to the continent are set to resume on May 7.
The flights were stopped following the eruption of a volcanic mountain in Iceland that spread ash in the atmosphere.
“Since the ban was lifted, we have not had airplanes taking our cargo. We need to airlift 200 tonnes of flowers, fish, fruits and vegetables but the plane we have can only carry 80 tonnes,†an officer at Fresh Handling said.
Fresh Handling is a cold store at the airport where Europe-bound fresh produce is kept before it is loaded onto planes.
According to the Uganda Export Promotions Board, Uganda has lost about $7m since the ban.
Rosebud, Uganda’s biggest rose farm, has lost over $1m (sh2.1b) in the last two weeks.
Experts say some flower growers might go bankrupt because they had not yet recovered from the global financial crisis when the flights were banned.
“For the exporters, the situation is quite distressing. But we cannot do much because the passenger backlog is still high. That is why we cannot airlift significant amounts of cargo,†said a cargo manager at one of the airlines.
ENTEBBE Airport is still stranded with produce worth billions of shillings despite the lifting of the ban on flights to Europe.Normal cargo flights to the continent are set to resume on May 7.
The flights were stopped following the eruption of a volcanic mountain in Iceland that spread ash in the atmosphere.
“Since the ban was lifted, we have not had airplanes taking our cargo. We need to airlift 200 tonnes of flowers, fish, fruits and vegetables but the plane we have can only carry 80 tonnes,†an officer at Fresh Handling said.
Fresh Handling is a cold store at the airport where Europe-bound fresh produce is kept before it is loaded onto planes.
According to the Uganda Export Promotions Board, Uganda has lost about $7m since the ban.
Rosebud, Uganda’s biggest rose farm, has lost over $1m (sh2.1b) in the last two weeks.
Experts say some flower growers might go bankrupt because they had not yet recovered from the global financial crisis when the flights were banned.
“For the exporters, the situation is quite distressing. But we cannot do much because the passenger backlog is still high. That is why we cannot airlift significant amounts of cargo,†said a cargo manager at one of the airlines.