How to benefit from planning

President Museveni tours the Buseruka hydro-power dam. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA 

 

By Dorothy M. Tuma

In addition to the six factors listed in a previous article on obtaining retail space in-country (business registration, quality, quantity, time, cost and written agreement), for retail space in an East African partner state you will need to consider a few more factors discussed below.

Naturally, a physical visit must be made to each of the retail outlets you are targeting. This will give you an opportunity to show product samples and to obtain each retail outlet’s requirements.

Certification: If you plan to export some form of processed food for human consumption (for example, chilli sauce, maize flour or fruit juice), certification from your local bureau of standards is necessary. In Uganda, this would be the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).

Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) typically avoid UNBS because the bureau’s services are believed to be exorbitantly priced. On the contrary however, UNBS offers SMEs lower rates for its services. The figure I recently heard a UNBS officer quote for SME product certification was Shs200,000.

Visit UNBS and find out whether your product’s UNBS quality stamp is recognized across the EAC as well as what to do if it is not. This is important because although theoretically the EAC countries recognise each other’s quality marks; in practice there are reports of certified products from one EAC country being turned away by another.


Additionally, visit your target country’s tax authority web page (Uganda Revenue Authority equivalent) for a list of documents required at points of entry.

Certificate of origin: To encourage EAC cross border trade, goods originating within the region (either fully produced in the EAC using EAC raw materials or produced within the EAC from imported raw materials that are substantially transformed within the EAC) are granted preferential treatment when crossing the borders within the five partner states. This provision was to facilitate attractive prices for qualifying EAC products and encourage intra-EAC cross border trade. It is important that you obtain an EAC Certificate of Origin if your products fit the above description so as to avoid unnecessary taxes that will increase your product prices. Forms are available at official border crossing points and a simplified version may be used for shipments under $2,000 in value.

Identify a distributor: Large retail outlets will ask you to identify a distributor who will ensure the prompt delivery of product orders. When this happens, ask your potential customer to recommend a local distributor whose work they appreciate. Follow up their recommendation with a due diligence exercise of your own in order to select a suitable distributor.

Merchandising Company: Larger supermarkets may ask you to ensure that the retail shelves displaying your products are always stocked, neat and clean. You can either hire a merchandising company to perform the task or make one of your employees available on a regular basis.
Endeavour to understand your target retail outlet needs and then make an honest assessment as to whether your enterprise has the right capabilities to fulfil them.