The Uganda Revenue Authority’s Jinja Customs Enforcement Alert Unit has intercepted a Fuso truck registration number. UBN 075J with smuggled rice from Pakistan, which is re-packaged into Ugandan-brand Kaka rice.
According to the enforcement unit, following intelligence, they intercepted the truck, loaded with 520 bags of smuggled goods over the weekend in Jinja.
The team noted that repacking is one of the emerging tactics used by rice smugglers.
“Local brand packaging is used to convey smuggled rice as locally farmed rice in a bid to abuse the customs legal provisions,” the URA enforcement unit said.
President Museveni recently advised that Ugandans should not only stop importing rice for eating but also start growing and exporting it.
“With over 40 million acres of land for agriculture, Ugandans are not producing enough rice and are instead importing rice. Rice is not only for eating. You can get animal feed, rice oil, and electricity from the husks,” the president advised.
President Museveni added that, unlike traditional farming, commercial agriculture allows high volumes of produce; he called upon Ugandans to adopt commercial agriculture in order to fight poverty.
