The prices of fruit and vegetables in Uganda have been halved due to low demand.

The BBC reports that farmers in Uganda have produced a bumper harvest. However, the interruption to the transportation of goods due to the measures imposed worldwide to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, has led to a collapse in food prices.

The BBC reports that shops and traders have reduced the amount of food they are buying, forcing farmers to sell their produce at next to nothing, or risk dumping their produce.

Dr James Kanyije, the Chief Executive of KK Fresh Foods, has blamed the ‘stay home’ measure, one of the curbs to the coronavirus pandemic, as being a factor in the reduced demand for fresh produce. He also said the company, which exports food to Europe, has been hard hit by rising costs and disruptions to transport. According to the BBC the high costs of sending food to Europe by air cargo is especially concerning. Kanyije said, “The exports and prices of food have fallen due to high costs of flights into the European Union and the demand yield has been affected by late movement of products due to transport (issues).”

Umm Muhammed Umar