Dairy Development Authority (DDA) Executive Director Dr Michael Kansiime has attributed the tremendous growth of Uganda’s Dairy sector to stakeholders who have made efforts to prioritise dairy products and create an enabling environment.
He made the remarks on July 27, 2022 while addressing a press conference in response to claims of unsafe milk on the Ugandan market at the Uganda Media Center in Kampala.
According to Dr Kansiime, the sector contributed UGX 287 billion in FY 2018/2019, it declined to UGX 176 billion in FY 2019/2020 because of the COVID-19 impact but had an increase to UGX 388 billion in FY 2020/2021.
He noted that DDA recorded an increase in milk production from the past years.
“We have seen an increase in our milk production. In 2018, we produced 2.5billion liters of milk. In 2019, we increased to 2.52 billion. In 2020 we produced 2.6 liters of milk and last year (2021), we produced 2.81 billion liters of milk,” he told journalists.
Dr Kansime revealed that out of the billions of milk produced, Ugandans were able to consume only 8000 liters of milk annually hence creating a surplus.
“That means we need to have our milk sold somewhere therefore we need to improve the shelf life. This means that our sector has been growing and steadily contributing to our GDP,” said Dr Kansime.
Out of the 2.8billion litres of milk currently produced, 80.2% (2,245,600,000L) is marketed and 19.8% (554,400,000L) is consumed at the farm.
“66% of the marketed milk is sold unprocessed (1,482,096,000L) of which 10% (148,209,600L) is sold door-to-door (homes) and 56% (1,333,886,400L) is sold at sales outlets,” he remarked.
He added that 34% of the marketed milk is processed (763,504,400L) into various milk and milk products including pasteurized milk, yoghurt, UHT milk, cream, ice cream butter, ghee, cheese, milk powder, casein, whey powder, and butter oil
Dr Kansiime further noted that milk collection and bulking have improved tremendously with several players such as Government, Dairy Cooperatives, Traders, Processors and Private individuals continuously investing in cold chain infrastructures.
“Cold chain infrastructure ensures that the milk is kept at an optimum temperature that enables it to retain its nutritional and palatable qualities. There has been an increase in milk infrastructure in the recent past. Almost every year, DDA commissions about six milk collecting centers,”Dr Kansiime.
Statistics from DDA indicate that there are currently 198 registered roadworthy milk tankers of different capacities mainly: 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, and 20,000 L operating countrywide. At the farm level, milk handling containers from the farms include food-grade milk cans.
There are 160 (Large, Medium, small scale and cottages) licensed entities processing milk and milk products.
Uganda’s key export market is comprised mainly of East African Community (EAC) regional countries, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Malaysia, India, USA, Japan, Oman, UAE, Nepal, Syria and Bangladesh.
Top exporters include Jesa Farm, GDK, Birunga Diaries, Brookside, Amos diaries, Lakeside Dairies, Pearl Dairies
The most exported products include milk powder, yoghurt, cheese, butter, ghee, butter oil, UHT milk, and casein.
