Tobacco.org

• Over 3,000 former child laborers enroll in school 

Over 3,000 children, formerly working as child labourers in Masindi and Kiryandongo districts have been withdrawn from tobacco farms and en­rolled in 53 primary schools.

The children aged between 5-17 years, faced a grim future without formal education as their daily routine was toiling in tobacco plantations to eke a living.

The high prevalence of child labour in Masindi and Kiry­andongo has been blamed for the poor performance of both districts in national examina­tions.

Under the project, Com­munity Empowerment for Elimination of Child Labour in Tobacco-growing Areas, children of school-going age working in tobacco farms in­stead of attending school were identified at village level.

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URA destroys smuggled cigarettes 

Cigarette sales spur Batu growth 

URA burns smuggled cigarettes worth sh900m 

URA burns smuggled cigarettes worth sh900m 

BATU mute even after strong results 

British American Tobacco profits up by 50%  

• A tale of two shares: How EAC black market is reshaping BAT’s fortune  

An impromptu customs check in northern Uganda tells it all. Smugglers bring in cheap cigarettes using motorbikes, pedestrians and fuel tankers catching tax customs officers off guard, a signal Uganda’s British American Tobacco (BATU) is in for a tougher year.

Analysts are warning that as it prepares to release its full year results in the coming weeks, the firm could see its earnings dented due to an increase in volumes of smuggled cigarettes in Uganda.

But while BATU’s profits are coming under threat from the smuggled cigarettes, Kenya’s BAT posted strong full year results a fortnight ago.

The contrasting fortunes of the two cigarette companies — both majority owned by British American Tobacco listed at the London Stock Exchange — highlights how a bet to manufacture in a certain location can go boom or bust for companies in the region, analysts say.

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URA burns Shs 900million illegal cigarettes 

• Uganda becomes key tobacco producer 

Uganda is becoming a key tobacco growing country six years after British America Tobacco Uganda (BATU) decided to concentrate on growing the leaf and leaving the production of cigarettes to its Kenyan operations.

BAT has already made Uganda the key location for its leaf operations. The company relocated its regional headquarters for Leaf Operations in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA), from South Africa to Uganda.

From just one country with only 30,000 farmers, Uganda will now oversee 11 countries, three continents, 1,038 employees and 100,000 farmers. According to Alain Schacher, BATU’s Managing Director, who is also EEMEA Regional Leaf Supply Manager, the choice was between Uganda and Zimbabwe, another key source. . . .

But BATU has proved all those sceptics wrong.

“For BAT, Uganda is a key source for tobacco for the group. To improve synergy between the global strategy and the local implementation, we felt Uganda was the best location,” Schacher says.

“We want to grow our farmers bigger, not necessarily to commercialize but a farmer with half an acre can move on to an acre so that we have effective means of dealing with them,” he adds. . . .

BATU intends to spend about $5m in its Uganda operations over the next two to three years.

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BAT joins Posta Bank to improve tobacco outgrowers livelihoods 

British American Tobacco, has through Posta Bank, created a payment system that will be used to clear tobacco outgrowers in Kanungu District.

The new system is an upgrade of the old one where farmers would be cleared at BAT’s purchasing points.

While launching the programme early this week, Mr Francis Mwesigwa, the Kanungu BAT area manager, said the initiative seeks to ease payments as well inculcating a culture of saving among farmers.

The programme, according to Mr Mwesigwa, also seeks to create a secure environment for both the company and the farmers in the area of financial handling.

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• Farmers warned against fake tobacco companies  

Tobacco farmers in Kanungu District have been warned against associating with mushrooming tobacco companies in the district.

While addressing tobacco farmers in Nyamirama Sub-county in Kihiihi Town Council yesterday, the deputy Resident District Commander, Mr Jjuko Kasita, said they have received a lot of complaints from farmers over non-payment by one of the companies that buys their tobacco.

“So far I have received complaints from you through your chairperson, petitioning this very company that has disappointed you by failing to open up the purchasing session,” Mr Kasita said, adding that it is not only the farmers who have complained to him but also the company’s field extension workers.

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• Tobacco dealers suffer smugglers’ wrath  

Legal tobacco dealers are the hardest hit now that they are shouldering the tax burden at the expense of tobacco smugglers resulting in revenue loss.

Industry players’ estimates show that the tobacco sector is deprived about $1 million annually—as the legal cigarette business loses $3 million. Analysts contend that the competition from smugglers is unfair to tobacco companies because smugglers reap billions of money at the expense of government revenues.

Tobacco smuggling is a vice that has been going on for years, affecting profit margins of formal industries, in essence impacting on the firms’ expansion plans, employment opportunities, and ultimately the revenue contributions.

Uganda Revenue Authority’s data and Uganda Export Promotion Board statistics place tobacco products—cigarettes, among the country’s top 10 major export commodities.

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Fear as tobacco company shuts offices  

Continental Tobacco Uganda Ltd offices in Arua have closed amid allegations that the company owes farmers at least Shs5 billion. According to Mr Caleb Kamure, a resident of Arua, “the money is payment for tobacco supplied by farmers in the two regions to the tobacco company from last year.”

He explained that last year, Continental offered high prices for tobacco as compared to its competitors, British American Tobacco and Leaf & Commodities (U) Ltd.

Duped? “This lured very many farmers into selling their tobacco to the Kenya-headquartered company. But after paying a very small amount of what they owed the farmers, the company failed to pay the balance,” Mr Kamure said.

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LETTER: Address public smoking and save us from the adverse health effects  

I have noted that public smoking is common in Kampala. I wish to applaud Ugandans who desist from cigarette smoking. Although just 18 per cent of our adult population is said to smoke, the actual population at risk of secondhand smoke might be double or even triple this figure. . . .

Ugandans must take necessary steps to avoid secondhand smoking. The Government, through relevant ministries, should pronounce itself on the long awaited enforcement of National Environment Control of Smoking in Public Places Regulations in order to protect millions of Ugandans from the health hazards of cigarette toxins.

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