Local manufacturers worry about substandard goods

By Eddie Ssejjoba

Some local manufacturers fear that laxity in the inspection of the quality and standard of imports might drive them out of business since many substandard goods are sold at lower prices.

“We would like the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to subject imported goods to the same standards that we go through so that we can compete favourably in the market,” said Mohammed Lalani, the managing director of Africa Polysack Industries and Triple M.

He was briefing Dr. Ben Manyindo, the executive director of UNBS, on their operations and the challenges they were facing.

Dr. Manyindo had visited the factory which manufactures woven polypropylene bags, tarpaulins and Triple M, which manufactures sanitary products at Seeta, off the Mukono-Jinja highway.

Lalani said the companies faced high costs of production due to unreliable power supply and training of local workers but end up competing with low quality imports on the market.

He said many consumers may not tell the difference in quality of the products they buy from the market.

Manyindo, however, assured that the bureau would soon start clumping down on all imports that do not follow the pre-inspection procedures.

“We have plans to even expose through our website and other platforms products that don’t meet our standards as a way of warning consumers,” he said.

Manyindo said the per-inspection policy on imported goods would help to reduce on importation of substandard goods, which he said exerted unfair competition on locally manufactured goods.

He said the bureau has embarked on making impromptu visits to various factories beginning with those that subscribe to the UNBS quality mark to ensure they follow the Uganda standards.