Uganda has 14.2 million cattle, 16 million goats, 4.5 million sheep, 47.6 million poultry and million pigs (MAAIF and UBOS, 2018). The beef industry is carried out country wide but more especially in the cattle corridors of South Western and North Eastern Uganda regions in Uganda. According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the prices of a kg of beef ranges between 12000-15,000perkg) depending on the season/festivities and the location of the butcher.

Currently, production constraints abound in Uganda majorly due to largely subsistence and existence of slow maturing indigenous breeds coupled with sluggish transition to commercial production. Secondly, with only two meat processing companies with recognizable standards in the country - Quality Fresh Cuts and Rosa, the country cannot poise itself to meet demand for beef products with the same speed with which it is growing.

According to Uganda Meat Producers Co-operative Union Ltd, there is no shortage of abattoirs in Uganda-however, they are sub-standard and largely do not observe hygiene requirements. The Union also cautions that market growth for processed meat is a long shot as currently, most Ugandans prefer freshly cut meat; processed meat products is only a preserve of just a small fraction of high-end consumers.

“There is a need to increase production through large scale commercial farming and ranching to take advantage of the increasing demand for Ugandan meat in the region.” Uganda’s beef is ranked 5th best in the world because of its yellow fat that does not contain cholesterol mainly because the cows are naturally grazed.

• Revenue in the Meat market amounts to US$2,554.00m in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 12.24% (CAGR 2023-2028).
• In global comparison, most revenue is generated in China (US$260bn in 2023).
• In the Meat market, volume is expected to amount to 581.30m kg by 2028. The Meat market is expected to show a volume growth of 9.2% in 2024.