Kampala city markets are experiencing severe shortage of dry cassava with skyrocketing prices for its flour.
In Kisenyi, the dry cassava dealers and cassava flour millers have expressed worry as supply continues to dwindle. Kisenyi is Kampala’s leading cassava collecting centre .
Patrick Mwanje, a dealer in dry cassava pieces in Kisenyi, said on Tuesday that the supply has drastically reduced, adding that on some days they may not receive even five tonnes.
He said even the inflow of the imported dry cassava from Tanzania that has been sustaining the local supply had also greatly reduced.
Moses Mutema, a Kisenyi cassava flour miller, said the price has almost doubled
He said a 100kg cassava flour bag is currently costing between sh180,000 and sh190,000 up from an average of sh90,000 in the recent past.
He said the retail price for a kilo of cassava flour is at sh2,500 and above with expected further shortage.
More worrying is the fact that the shortage and increment in price of cassava flour has started when the price maize grain and maze flour are alarming.
However, Edward Tatwale, a maize dealer and miller under Mukwano Maize Flour based in Kisenyi, said the price for 50 kilod of the fine maize flour goes at between sh150,000 and sh160,00, up from an average of sh120,000 in the recent past.
He said the price of maize flour has already surpassed that of some brands of rice .
Tatwale said the price for maize grain in Kampala on Wednesday hit sh2,200, the highest in more than a decade.
This implies that the retail price for maize flour automatically goes to sh4,000 and above per kilogramme.
Tatwale predicted further increment in prices for maize as farmers in some maize growing districts have been frustrated by unpredicted dry spells.
The price for maize bran, a byproducts of maize flour has also hit sh1,300 a kilo.
Maize is a major ingredient in livestock feeds.
