July 19, 2006

Foot-and-mouth disease hits Uganda's beef industry hard

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in western Uganda, the country's main cattle-producing region, has affected operations of the City Abattoir.

The disease, which has been reported in 19 districts, has led to a quarantine on the movement of livestock and dairy products in the country.

Transporters have to use specially assigned routes, which are longer, hence tripling their expenses, said Musisi Mutebi, a quality controller at City Abattoir adding that traders were also badly affected.

The reduced beef supply has pushed the price of beef up by about 40 percent.

Without enough beef to meet local demand, meat processing firms such as Uganda Meat Industries are suspending beef exports.

Other beef export firms are worried that governments in the region might ban Uganda's milk and beef exports if the disease is not brought under control.

Uganda earns about US$2 million a year from meat exports.

Authorities have blamed the outbreak on Ugandan pastoralists who earlier this year crossed the border into Tanzania.

Despite the government's efforts to control the disease, traders have been illegally buying and moving cattle into other districts, further spreading the disease.