Uganda should retaliate against Kenya's persistent trade bans - Mwenda

The decision by the Kenyan government to block Uganda’s milk again from accessing their market has drawn mixed reactions from analysts and economists.

Some describe the decision as an internal political issue in Kenya while policy analyst Andrew Mwenda says it’s high time Uganda retaliated.

Uganda exports milk to the Egyptian market, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Ethiopia and Tanzania, among other countries, with the latest sealed deal being the Algerian market that is absorbing 1.4 billion liters of milk worth Shs1.8 trillion.

Statistics indicate that dairy exports bounced back at Shs379.6 billion from Shs341.8 billion in the Financial Year 2022/2023.

Uganda’s dairy sector continues to count losses as the country’s largest export market for milk, Kenya, again blocked export.

Consequently, Uganda risks losing over Shs10 billion.

Mwenda believes it’s high time Uganda retaliated as Kenya’s internal political issues continue to hinder business among the two states.

“President Museveni should retaliate on Kenya because if this continues to happen, Kenya is going to exploit Uganda to the maximum and we lose billions of money,” Mwenda said.

Even when Museveni sealed a milk export deal with Algeria, economists believe the continuous blockage of Ugandan milk is due to the supremacy battle between President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta.

Uganda’s milk farmers and processors have been on a brink of economic ruin in the sector for the past three years after Kenya had banned, allowed and banned Ugandan milk from accessing its market without clear reasons.