According to Uganda’s Trade Ministry, grains leaving and coming into the country will be subjected to strict quality controls as government moves to raise the profile of the produce. According to the national export development strategy developed by the ministry for the next five years, commodities such as maize and rice have been prioritised for value addition given their wide market and potential to generate foreign exchange. In order to achieve quality control objective, the ministry has tasked the Uganda National Commodity Exchange (UNCE) to enforce quality test and ensure compliance of grain standards in order to formalise the industry. The UNCE will work together with the warehouse receipt system to license and monitor warehouses. The initiative was overwhelmingly welcomed by grain traders and major warehouse owners as it revitalize commodity exchange and help reduce post-harvest losses of grains while boost national and regional trade. UNCE will replace Uganda Commodity Exchange (UCE) at structuring grain trade in the country. Different from UCE, UNCE is largely a private-sector owned, with government owning just 20 per cent stake through the Uganda Development Corporation. Meanwhile, EAC states are advised to harmonize grain standards at all border posts to improve the quality of grains traded in the region. This follows due to an increase in grain trade across borders. According to report findings from a two-year project study conducted by the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), supported by USAID, EAC standards for maize and rice are not being followed even though border officials and traders are aware of the standards. The findings also revealed that there were no functional laboratories for testing aflatoxins and traces of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the grains that were coming and leaving the community. The project aimed at integrating small farmers into the formal trading systems to facilitate their access to national and regional markets. The project focused on maize and rice commodities through farmer organizations, which include Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA), Kenya National Farmers Federation (KENAFF) and Tanzania Federation of Cooperatives Limited (TFC).
http://www.agribusinessafrica.net/index.php/2950-eac-states-asked-to-harmonize-grain-standards
http://www.agribusinessafrica.net/index.php/2791-govt-moves-to-enforce-grain-quality-control
http://www.fituganda.com/manage/download/atm/marketreports/subsectorstudygrains.pdf