Special-Report_Doing-Business-in-Uganda-East-Africa-and-Beyond_East-African-Business-Week_Trade-Report Mar. 2015 | Page 5

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SPECIAL REPORT
East African Business Week I February 23 - March 1, 2015

Doing business in Uganda and beyond

Compliance eases cross border trade – Hima Cement
The past couple of years have seen increased volumes of trade
across borders within the East Africa Community states as well as
with other countries outside the trading bloc. For instance, recent
data from the EAC secretariat showed the EAC trade volume has
been growing at an annual rate of 22 per cent within the bloc. The
trade trend with other neighbors like South Sudan and Democratic
Republic of Congo is not far off.
This regional trade is being driven by manufactured products like cement. Hima Cement Limited, whose plant in Kasese
-Southwestern Uganda- produces 850, 000 Metric Tonnes of cement per annum is not a stranger to doing business across the
region. While a bulk of its produced cement is consumed locally,
the rest - about 350,000 MT- is exported to the neighboring countries primarily Rwanda and DRC.
Patrick Mugenyi, Hima Cement Sales Director says in the cement business there has been notable progress in cross border
trading in recent years. “We see more commonalities while doing
business with our neighbors,” Mugenyi says, “There is an ongoing
commitment by the governments in the region to see the trade
limitations removed for instance by enforcing Axel Load Legislation across the region.” But, he adds, not all businesses may be
able to attest to that depending on their business practices. “We
have seen a steady flow of trade because we comply with regulations in each market,” says the Sales Director for Lafarge Uganda
which is involved in exports to Rwanda and DRC as well as importing from Kenya.

struction activity thus driving down the demand for cement in that
market,” Mugenyi adds. Such uncertainty has also been experienced
in DRC from time to time.

sector is growing fast with many public infrastructure projects lined
up as well as private investments. The cement manufacturer plans to
continue being a key supplier for the construction sector within the
EAC bloc and beyond.

Despite such challenges, Hima Cement acknowledges this is a
good time to be in the cement business. The region’s construction

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“Non-compliance by some business operators is a challenge.
It distorts trade, creating uneven playing field for businesses in
the same industry,” Mugenyi says. If non-compliance is a challenge to cross border trade, are the governments doing enough to

We have seen a steady
flow of trade because we
comply with regulations in
each market.
ensure all cement importers/ exporters comply? “We have seen
improvement and more strict measures are being taken,” Mugenyi responds. For instance, Hima Cement which relies on the road
network for transportation of its products in markets like South
Sudan and Congo is difficult.
“The poor road network in some of our markets makes it difficult for us to do business in such countries,” says Mugenyi. But
he notes that not all markets have a poor road network, Rwanda for
instance, he says, and the roads are excellent while within Uganda
the road network is fair. In the cement manufacturer’s experience,
they have had to take hits in instances of political turmoil in their
export markets. “The political upheavals in South Sudan affected
most business. For us such political uncertainty halts any con-

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Hima Cement are cashing in on the region’s rapidly growing
construction sector as spending rises for new public
infrastructure projects as well as private investments in
housing.

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