Uganda: Slow government progress on milk export talks worry producers

Milk exporters and private sector players have expressed concern, noting the speed with which government is conducting negotiations for markets reopening is extremely slow and frustrating. About three months ago, Uganda and Kenya completed talks in which it was agreed that Kenya would verify and clear exportation of milk into the country following months of bickering between the two countries. The ban is yet to be lifted with producers expressing frustration, amid falling returns and a narrowing market. Speaking in an interview, Mr Simon Kaheru, Uganda's delegate to the East Africa Business Council, told Daily Monitor that milk exporters, some of whom had gone as far as Zambia, have been frustrated, noting that government should find a quick way of resolving the impasse. "One of our members had even gone as far as exporting milk to Zambia but has been frustrated by the standoff. As East Africans, we need to acknowledge and address the slow speed of resolution of these issues, ...