Two million tonnes of matooke being flown to Ugandans living in the USA

Matooke, locally also known as matooke, amatooke in Buganda (Central Uganda), ekitookye in southwestern Uganda, ekitooke in western Uganda, kamatore in Lugisu (Eastern Uganda), is a staple food amongst Ugandans.

It is grown by 75% of the country’s farmers on 40% of the total arable land in Uganda.

The shelf life of matooke is extended by a month using vacuum packing, a method of packaging that removes air from the package prior to sealing.

Vacuum packing is being done by a Mbarara-based Fresh Vacuum Sealed Matooke (FREVASEMA) after it received the orders of two million tonnes of matooke from Ugandans living in the USA this month.

Prof. George William Byarugaba Bazirake, the executive director of FREVASEMA, said that Karibu Restaurant in Boston and other eateries in the USA cook matooke and the demand for the same has gone through the proverbial roof.

As a result, Bazirake said, the matooke being imported into the USA will feed 20,000 Ugandans living in Boston, Virginia, Washington and Seattle.

He added that his company transports the matooke in chilled trucks up to Entebbe Airport. From Entebbe Airport airlines such as Emirates Air and Qatar Airways fly them to the USA.

This huge export is a massive boost to the Ugandan farmer and the economy, which is has experienced several jolts as commodity prices for items like matooke keeping rising in Uganda.

Consequent upon these price increases, Uganda’s parliament has appealed to the government of Uganda to step in and stop the rising prices of basic commodities, especially of Bidco Uganda Ltd and Mukwano Group of Companies products.

The prices of basic commodities such as cooking oil, rice, sugar, bread, milk and other items have risen sharply in recent weeks making them unaffordable to the poor.

“I wonder if the local person in the village can afford a bar of soap at sh10, 000. This cannot be an issue of studying; this has to be worked on immediately. The local person needs to be rescued in this matter,” Deputy Speaker Anita Among, who represents Bukedea district as Woman MP, said during parliament’s plenary session.

She was responding to Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General Duties), Henry Ariganyira Musasizi, who sought to discover whether the price increase was a result of increased taxes.

“I need to go back and make an analysis and come back with a comprehensive statement,” he said.

However, Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi partly provided an answer by saying the government imposes a 10% import duty on raw materials, so the manufacture of soap and other detergents have subsequently risen.

According to a recent ministry of finance report, Hon. Opendi could be onto something since.

The report states that revenue collection has increased from shs13.4 trillion in 2016/2017 to shs21.1 trillion in the 2020/2021 financial year. This implies that taxes, which increases prices of commodity prices, have risen in tandem to revenue collection.

The finance ministry believes revenue collection will continue to grow owing to the reopening of the economy, which will broaden and deepen economic activities to reflect increased taxation and revenue collections.