By David Rupiny
A consignment of 140 metric tonnes of high-quality processed and canned pineapples has been flagged off to the lucrative Chinese market.
The initiative is the brainchild of Deshiburg Fruits International Co. Ltd. (Certificate of Incorporation: 80034759371935), which was incorporated as a specialized fruit processing enterprise within the China-Uganda Agriculture Cooperation Industrial Park (CUACIP) run by Kehong Group.
In 2015, in central Uganda, Kehong Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), which includes investment of 220 million dollars in commercial agriculture, value addition, job creation, and export development.
In the MOU, Kehong Group committed to transforming Uganda’s agricultural sector through value addition, technology transfer, and market access. After the establishment of the park in the first phase, the pineapple export is part of CUACIP’s Phase II dedicated to agro-processing.
So, today, Kehong Group’s subsidiary, Deshiburg Fruits International, flagged off the first consignment of 140 tonnes of high-quality canned pineapples processed in its factory in the CUACIP industrial park located in the pineapple belt of Luwero in the northern part of Uganda’s central region.
Deshiburg is the first company to set up a dedicated canned pineapple factory in Uganda, producing high-quality products processed without artificial preservatives and using the Smooth Cayenne variety, renowned for its natural sweetness.
With the capacity to process up to 500 tonnes of locally sourced pineapples daily, the project is geared toward international markets, proudly showcasing its motto: “One great Deshiburg Can Serve Worldwide”.
The flagging-off ceremony marks a historic milestone:
First Commercial Shipment: The inaugural dispatch of 4 containers (140 metric tonnes) of canned pineapple from Uganda to the People’s Republic of China.
Value Addition Realized: Demonstrates successful transition from raw fruit production to high-value processed exports, directly aligning with Uganda’s National Development Plan (NDP IV) and the Chinese market’s stringent quality standards.
Out-grower Impact: Validates the CUACIP out-grower model, where over 1,500 local farmers from Luweero, Nakasongola, Nakaseke, and Kayunga districts supply pineapples for processing, securing rural incomes.
South-South Cooperation: A tangible outcome of Uganda-China agricultural collaboration under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Flagging of the export consignment, Uganda’s Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, said the factory increases the demand for pineapples as a raw material and ends the perennial challenge of lack of market for perishable agricultural produce.
Minister Tumwebaze noted that the development places a good challenge to Ugandan farmers to produce more pineapples to meet the processing demands.
The minister called upon local political leaders and agricultural extension personnel to mobilise and guide our farmers to start intentional farming – farming that targets to meet the existing demand of a particular agro raw material sustainably.
He noted that the huge proliferation of agro-industries speaks to farmers only one message: “Produce, produce and produce more! The excuses of no markets for agricultural produce is no more with this revolution of agro-industrialisation”.
Minister Tumwebaze urged Ugandans to, as he put it, “produce for own food, produce for the market (domestic, regional and international) and please do so following the acceptable standards.”
Uganda has vast investment opportunities in agriculture with vast arable land across the entire country.
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