Uganda’s exportation of fruits and vegetables to the European Union (EU) is expected to increase once Uganda Airlines starts direct flights to the UK.
According to Odrek Rwabwogo, the chairperson of Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), the different connecting flights from Uganda have adversely affected the country’s ability to export fruits to EU countries.
“Because it is a landlocked country, Uganda mainly exports fruits and vegetables to Europe by air, into Liège, Brussels and Amsterdam,” Rwabwogo is quoted by Fruitnet as saying in an interview.
“There hasn’t been a direct airline route to the UK for the last six or seven years, but now Uganda Airlines is in the final stages of safety inspections to agree landing rights with Britain. We have aircraft that can transport some 20-30 tonnes on each flight, and we hope this will really strengthen that route,” he added.
Uganda Airlines is set to launch the London Heathrow flights later this year.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has offered the carrier the option to operate flights through intermediate airports in Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, or Turkey.
These airports already have existing security ratings from the UK CAA, while delays in commencing a security audit of Entebbe International Airport have been a major hindrance to commence this service.
“We had already set up at the airport, what is left is for us to set up a marketing office and reactivate the slots we had been previously allocated,” the CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki said recently.
Uganda is currently earning about $50 million annually from fruit and vegetable exports but hopes to grow this to about $200 million in the next few years.
