By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has released the Annual Headline Inflation for April, 2024 showing that the Annual Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for the 12 months to April 2024 increased at a slower rate of 3.2% compared to 3.3% registered in the year ended March 2024.
The increase is due to the Annual core Inflation registered at 3.5% driven by notable price increases in Ajon or Malwa a local millet brew, Silver fish also known as Mukene, Tilapia fish, refined oil, domestic flight charges, Hotel and Accommodation and cement.
The statistics show that the price of Mukene rose from 6.9% in March to 28.8% in April, Malwa from 4.6% in March to 6.5% in April. Tilapia fresh prices rose from 5.8% in March to 15.6% in April.
Malwa prices are increasing because of millet scarcity since this is now the planting season and this trend is bound to continue until early harvest in June/July.
Early this month, this website ran a story detailing how the scarcity of Mukene was driving fish traders into financial hardships.
The traders majority being women who have dealt in this business for over 5 years attribute the scarcity and hiked price of silverfish to government’s recent ban on the use of the ‘hurry-up’ fishing method that was commonly used and favorable for harvesting silverfish across many lakes in Uganda according to the fishing communities.
The method according to the ministry of fisheries uses cast nets (tupa tupa), seine nets, and hurry-ups and was banned because of its destructive characteristics.
Jennifer Icumar is the chairperson of women dealing in silverfish business in Soroti main market, says that since the scarcity of silver fish started, the prices have gone up.
“We buy a basin at 130,000shs, we sale a Nomi at 10,000sh you may realize only 1000 shilling as a profit that we use for paying market dues. Previously we used to buy silver fish from Jinja between 60,000 to 65,000 a basin and we would sell a Nomi at 7000 shs or 6000 and you get a profit of like 10000shs,” Icumar stated.
Stella Akello is another trader, she said a nomi now goes at 15,000shs, 12,000, 7000, 6000, 5000, 3000, 2000 and 1000 depending on the size of container for measurement. This she said started in February this year. “Previously we used to sell a big nomi at 8000shs.This has affected the number of customers we have lately,” she noted.
The condemned hurry-up method according to ministry of fisheries catches large quantities of untargeted fish, especially juvenile Nile perch, a matter that threatens the sustainability of fish stocks in the water bodies.
The Fish (Fishing Rules) of 2010, currently in force, prohibit the use of seine nets and nets whose mesh sizes are below those specified sizes. The same rules also ban fishing for silverfish in water less than 2km from the shoreline.
