The food chain distribution has had a generally good supply of common staples such as Matooke, rice, maize, millet and potatoes. Throughout the last nine seasons, the supply of Matooke has been abundant to most high consumption markets such as towns and cities. This was made possible due to above normal to normal rainfalls in the production areas, improved nurturing of the soils, the fight of pests and diseases in the Matooke value chain and the accessibility of Matooke to high consumption areas.
In Kampala, plenty of Matooke was received in most major markets and road side markets because most of the communities have preferred it. Bunches cost Ugx.5000-20,000 depending on the size of the bunch. However, medium sized bunches weighing 20-23kgs cost Ugx.10,000 during low supply periods. The price declined to Ugx.8000 during high supply where plenty was registered especially during the harvest period of June to July and November to January.
Presently, the supply of Matooke to most major consumption areas is dwindling indicating a winding up of the season. This is most likely to affect the food chain because matooke is preferred by most town dwellers and has a direct impact on the price of other staples such as maize, rice and potatoes. Supply is usually from Western Uganda, the Elgon region and Sebei. Plenty of Matooke was reported coming from Kabarole, Kyegegwa and greater Mbarara. Currently, a medium sized bunch cost Ugx.12,000-13,000 at wholesale in Kampala. This supply has been distributed to most townships on trucks. Speculation has it that in the next few months, the same size of the bunch would have increased to Ugx.16,000-18,000 at wholesale.
Usually, the price of Matooke has a direct effect on the price of maize flour. When there is plenty of Matooke, most households will have less maize meal and the reverse is true. However, the current maize harvest was highly affected by drought. Therefore, it is likely that the maize harvest season will be short lived and highly priced. Maize price in Kampala declined slightly to Ugx.780/kg. However the price quickly rose again to Ugx.810/kg.
In the production locations of Kyankwanzi, Kiboga, Masindi and Mubende, maize was registered at Ugx.500-700/kg at wholesale. The current prices were reported higher than expected during the harvest season.
At the border produce market in Busia, less grain trading was registered because of the current export from neighboring Tanzania that offered their maize lower than the Ugandan grain. Less demand of maize was as a result of a current harvest in Kenya. It is also true that the current transaction price in the production areas is not competitive for traders to supply Busia but rather Kampala.
Good quality maize cost Ugx.796/kg (Ksh.24.5). The least acceptable quality usually for animal feed cost Ugx.747/kg (Ksh.23). Less than 100MT were traded in this market on a daily throughout the week.
Low purchasing power was registered for commodities such as beans in most markets. Traders in Kampala noted that very few buyers were registered for most items. In Owino, sugar beans were highly priced at Ugx.2650-2700/kg while Yellow beans and Short Nambaale cost
Ugx.2200-2300/kg at wholesale. Long Nambaale, Kahuura and Kanyeebwa beans were offered at the same price of Ugx.2100/kg wholesale price.
Likewise less trading in the beans section at Busia Border Produce market was registered this week. An estimated 400-500MT were traded daily throughout the week. Yellow beans cost Ugx.2145/kg (Ksh.66). Wailimu at Ugx.1787/kg (Ksh.55), Nambale short at Ugx.1950/kg (Ksh.60), Kahuura at Ugx.2112/kg (Ksh.65), Sugar beans at Ugx.2047/kg (Ksh.63), white beans at Ugx.1982/kg (Ksh.61) and Mixed beans at Ugx.1300/kg (Ksh.40).
Other commodities that were demanded from Kenya at the border market included sorghum at Ugx.1137/kg (Ksh35), Millet at Ugx.3185/kg (Ksh.98), Soya beans at Ugx.2400/kg (Ksh.75), Groundnuts and Simsim at Ugx.4517/kg (Ksh.139) and dry cassava chips at Ugx.585/kg (Ksh.18).
Elsewhere, beans were offered at wholesale in Kyankwanzi at Ugx.1800/kg, Tororo at Ugx.2100/kg, Kabarole at Ugx.1900/kg, Masaka at Ugx.2000/kg and Mubende at Ugx.1800/kg.
Fish prices have since increased slightly. Tilapia increased to Ugx.9000/kg while Nile perch to Ugx.10,000-11000/kg, lung fish (emamba) was much cheaper at Ugx.6000/kg.
Download this week’s Price Outlook (19th – 24thJuly) for the detailed prices of individual commodities in the different regions of Uganda.