The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries has halted the implementation of the resolution to impose a Minimum Export Price on fish fillet of 6 US dollars per kilogram.
According to a ministerial statement issued today, all stakeholders are free to export fish and fish products at prices that are determined by both the market and the principle of willing buyer/willing seller.
In September 2023, the Ministry held a consultative meeting with Fish exporters and Processors Associations and key on the agenda was a discussion of the decline in fish export quantities and values.
The Fish Processors and exporters suggested in a resolution that a minimum export selling price of USD 06 per kg of fillet exported be set and enforced with effect from 1st October 2023.
But Uganda having liberalized her economy, the The Minimum Export Price has generated a lot of apprehension.
Because this has met resistance, government says it considered the feedback from all stake holders and decided to halt its implementation.
Fish export is among Uganda’s leading foreign exchange earners. In 2022 Uganda exported fish worth $166 million about UgX 619 billion.
Uganda exports fish to Europe, Australia, the Middle East, US, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo and Southeast Asia.
Nile perch, mainly fillets, is the main fish species exported.
