HIGH costs of electricity,
diesel, freight and agricultural inputs are chocking the
flower sector. Juliet Musoke, the head of the Uganda Flower
Exporters Association, explained that the poor road network
to the flower farms, had not helped the situation.
Musoke disclosed that a number of flower farm proprietors
maintained the roads at their own cost. They paid between
sh10m and 15m annually on road works, Musoke added.
“The poor conditions of the roads has got a direct
impact on the quality of flowers. This is contributing to
the already high costs of doing business,” she said
recently at a workshop on the status of Uganda’s floriculture
industry at the Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala.
She said because of the poor roads, the repair bill for
trucks was estimated at $1,500 (about sh2.5m) per month.
“We believe that the bigger percentage of this is
due to the poor roads,” she said. She said high freight
costs had also made the sector uncompetitive.
This, she said, had remained the major constraint over the
years. Freight charges in Uganda were $2.30 per kilo in
April compared to Kenya’s $1.70 to $1.75.
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