Ugandan milk finally finds ready market in Algeria

President Yoweri Museveni has flagged off the first consignment of powdered milk to the North African nation of Algeria.

At the inaugural shipment ceremony held at State House Entebbe, attended by officials from the ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, led by minister Frank Tumwebaze, and those from Brookside Limited Uganda, the president flagged off four containers of powdered milk, equivalent to 500 metric tons.

The consignment is part of the total 2,100 metric tons of high-quality milk powder, worth over $8 million, that is to be sent to Algeria. This export is a result of bilateral negotiations and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed during Museveni’s visit to Algeria in March 2023, which opened markets for coffee, milk, and other products from Uganda.

Tumwebaze congratulated Brookside and the dairy sector for the milestone, expressing hope that increased exports will sustain the market for farmers.

“Algeria is a market we’ve been pursuing for some time. When the president visited that country in 2023, one of the bilateral negotiations and the MoU we signed was to allow our coffee and milk. I want to congratulate Brookside, as well as the dairy sector and its farmers, on the opening of this market,” Tumwebaze said.

According to Kennedy Gatheru, the director of finance at Brookside Africa Limited, the partnership will open up a large market that the whole country can benefit from. He thanked Museveni for his involvement in securing the Algerian market.

“From your personal trade intervention, and with your involvement, we are confident of securing further export opportunities for our range of dairy products,” Gatheru said.

While hosting Ahmed Attaf, Algeria’s minister of Foreign Affairs and a special envoy of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, last year at Nakasero, Museveni commended the growing cooperation between Uganda and Algeria, expressing his gratitude to his Algerian counterpart for the tangible progress made in implementing bilateral agreements.

In the same meeting, Attaf informed Museveni that Algeria’s goal is to redirect its annual $700 million milk import budget towards Uganda due to its high-quality fresh milk.