Traders operating from major abattoirs in Kampala City have complained of low sales during this year’s Eid al-Adha celebrations.
Traders from Lufula City and Kalerwe abattoirs said whereas they each slaughtered over 1,000 cattle plus goats and sheep during last year’s Eid al-Adha celebrations, they say this time, they slaughtered fewer than 500.
Ms Jesca Nakalema, the chairperson of female traders at the Lufula city abattoir, said the scarcity of animals is due to transportation challenges occasioned by the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
“We used to sell a kilo of beef at Shs10,000 but due to its scarcity this time, we were forced to sell it between Shs12,000 and Shs13,000,” Ms Nakalema said.
She said by midday on Tuesday, beef at the biggest city abattoir was done yet customers were still many.
The other traders attributed the scarcity to the ongoing cattle movement bans due to foot and mouth disease in different parts of the country.
In February, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries imposed a livestock quarantine and closed cattle markets in several districts across the country following a fresh outbreak of FMD . Some of the affected districts include; Kiruhura , Lyantonde ,Kalungu ,Sembabule , Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Kiryandongo, Nakaseke, Nakasongola ,Masindi, Mbarara .
Others are, Bukedea , Rakai,Gomba ,Koboko, Mukono, Lubirizi ,Serere and Ibanda.
In the last four years, the Ministry of Agriculture has kept a quarantine in place in many cattle corridor districts following repeated FMD outbreaks.