LIRA – The price of oil seeds in the Lango Sub region have shot up due to scarcity, paralyzing businesses in the factories in Lira City.
According to manufacturers and processors, the supply of the oil seeds is not matching the high demand.
“The demand in the local market and milling industries is so high but the season for harvesting such commodities, is still far,” said Francis Ogema, a board member of Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Players say the unit price for sunflower and soybeans has kept going up on the daily basis, forcing some factories to stop operations because of lacking the raw materials.
The price of soybean has shot up to Sh3,500 from Sh1,500 per kilogramme, groundnut Sh5,500 from Sh4,000, sunflower Sh1,200 from Sh2,200 and simsim Sh6,000 from Sh3500.
Ateeq Muhammad Nawaz, one of the investors in Lira City attributed the scarcity of oil seeds to prolonged drought and late planting of the money-minting seeds.
“There is high demand. In my factory, I need 100 tonnes of sunflower and 50 tonnes of soybean but I cannot get them,” he says.
There are 54 factories and industries in Lira City which include four giant processing units such as Mukwano, Mt Meru, Nile Agro and Guru Nanak.
Late last year, sunflower was going for Sh1,250 from Shs1,800 a kilo, soybean at Shs 2,300 from Shs 3, 500 and sim-sim which is locally consumed was at Shs 4,000 from Sh 5,500.
“This is the harvesting season and the price cannot go up against low demand,” Singh Surijit the chairperson Indian community in the Lango sub-region was quoted as saying.
Other major notable factories include Ngetta Tropical Holding, Premukh miller, Farook Agro, Mian Agro, and Umaima business,
Robert Adwek, the operation and extension manager of Mukwano says the price of the seeds will come down when farmers have started harvesting.
“Right now those who stored are earning a lot of money but unfortunately non of them stored, he says.
https://thecooperator.news/agago-commercial-farmers-excited-over-oil-factory-plans/
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