Jackie (not real name) is a restaurant owner who has decided to keep beef off her menu because her customers complain and end up not buying her food because of the increase in food prices, especially when served with beef sauce.
Jackie’s plate of food served with beef has increased from sh5,000 to over sh10,000 in the past few days.
In other high-end restaurants, the price of a plate of food served with beef has increased from sh10,000 two years ago to sh20,000 currently.
“I used to sell breakfast at sh2,500 and lunch at sh5,000 when the price of beef at the butcher’s was between sh10,000 and sh15,000 a kilogramme. But, the price of meat is between sh18,000 and sh20,000, which has forced me to increase the price of food to sh5,000 for breakfast and sh10,000 for lunch,” Jackie said.
She said most of her customers are bodaboda cyclists who say the prices are high.
“So, I end up making losses because many of my customers stopped buying,” Jackie said.
In the long run, this has affected Jackie’s profitability.
“I used to make about sh50,000 as profit, but I now make sh30,000 or less.”
Abduh Amaalo, the chairperson of the city abattoir on Old Port Bell Road in Kampala, said the beef prices are rising because of the scarcity of cattle.
“The number of cattle keeps declining. One reason is foot-and-mouth disease because we currently buy from only three regions: Mbarara, Ngoma and Teso. These cannot support the whole country, yet the rest of the country is under quarantine,” Amaalo said.
He added that butchers are currently selling meat between sh18,000 and sh20,000.
“This is because they get the meat at between sh15,000 and sh16,000 from abattoirs,” Amaalo said.
He added: “We used to slaughter between 500 to 700 head of cattle a day and 800 head of cattle on weekends. But we currently slaughter between 250 and 280 head of cattle per day and between 400 and 450 head of cattle on weekends. We have the market, but we fail to satisfy them fully because the demand is higher than the supply,” he said.
But the scarcity of cattle is not only linked to the quarantine.
Amaalo said fake veterinary medicine is also pushing many farmers out of cattle rearing, as their animals die of diseases.
He called upon the Government to help farmers because this affects the economy.
“The Government needs to help farmers with regulation of pesticides used on farms; most of these are fake and cattle either die or get stunted. Farmers who specialise in beef cattle do not sell them to us; they have their own market locally and abroad. Some reserve them for only festive days like Idd, Easter or Christmas,” Amaalo said.
There were also reports that some farmers and beef traders had resorted to selling cattle or beef to traders in DR Congo, who offer better prices.
However, Amaalo dispelled the reports, arguing that they cannot sell animals to the Congolese when they cannot satisfy the local demand.
“Our beef is good for the international market, but we do not have enough for the local market. We ask the Government to intervene because we will be paying taxes and contributing to economic growth,” Amaalo said.
Beef benefits Daniel Kamara, a clinical nutritionist at Bwindi Community Hospital, said red meat remains one of the most important yet misunderstood foods in the human diet.
He said eating red meat in moderation offers irreplaceable health benefits, especially in communities prone to malnutrition.
“Red meat has essential nutrients, including iron, vitamins, zinc, and high-quality protein, crucial for preventing anaemia, supporting immunity, and muscle development,” Kamara said.
He added: “This is vital for preventing anaemia, especially among women of reproductive age and children.”
However, Kamara cautioned against excessive consumption of red meat.
“Eat it two or three times a week, in small portions. Then balance it with traditional plant-based alternatives like beans, groundnuts and greens. This can reduce chronic diseases such as heart diseases, hypertension and diabetes,” he advised.
Govt responds
Charlotte Kemigyisha, the agriculture ministry’s public relations manager, said only three districts — Bushenyi, Kamwenge and Pakwach — remain under quarantine.
“We are currently awaiting final reports from the respective district veterinary officers to facilitate the complete lifting of the quarantine,” she said.
Kemigyisha said the Government procured 12.8 million doses of livestock vaccine, of which 11.2 million doses have so far been distributed across 141 districts.
“I am pleased to report that the disease has now been contained and quarantines in the affected districts have been lifted,” she said, signalling a return to normalcy in livestock trade and movement.
According to the International Livestock Research Institute, Uganda exported 247,234kg of beef in 2022, earning approximately sh2.94b.
This marked a significant increase from the sh1.01b generated in 2021. The DR Congo emerged as the leading importer of Ugandan meat, accounting for 55% of the total exports.
While Uganda is a net exporter of livestock products, the export of live animals remains minimal. The country’s animal product exports are largely dominated by dairy products and eggs, which contribute approximately $80m (about sh287b).
In comparison, meat and meat products account for a much smaller share, valued at around $6.2m (about sh22b).
According to the 2021 Uganda National Bureau of Statistics livestock census, Uganda has 14.5 million cattle, an increase from 11.4 million in 2008.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Amaalo, the chairperson of the city abattoir on Old Port Bell Road in Kampala, said cattle scarcity, partly due to quarantine, has pushed beef prices up countrywide.
