According to a study done by Dr Isaac MB Shinyekwa, a senior research fellow at the Economic Policy Research Centre, less than 10% of cotton produced in Uganda is processed and eaten domestically.
According to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development study, Uganda sits at the bottom of the cotton value chain. The government spends at least $210 million each year on textile imports, the majority of which come from Asia and the Middle East. However, secondhand clothing accounts for the majority of the import expense, which has grown fivefold since 2001.
Under the import substitution strategy, Uganda has been attempting to limit the quantity of imports that enter the nation. To expedite the Buy Uganda Build Uganda programme, the nation intends to focus on domestic and regional markets. It is attempting to gather all uniformed troops, medical clothing, and associated items together in order to generate demand that will support local production.
Uganda earned $48.68 million (Shs172 billion) in the first three months of this year, compared to $m earned during the same period last year. Cotton volumes fell to 103,525.81 bales, down from 191, 727.18 bales in the same period last year.
This indicates that volumes fell by 85% when compared to the same times previous year. Cotton, Uganda’s third largest export commodity until 2001, faced a variety of problems due to climate change and competition from other non-traditional cash crops.
Cotton, Uganda’s third-largest export commodity, has faced a variety of problems, including climate change and competition from non-traditional income crops. Cotton production is dominated by small-holder farmers, whose productivity is frequently hampered by a lack of required resources, such as quality seeds and reliance on crude production methods, among other things.
