Andama Samuel Grinding a cassava flour at Arua city Social Center Market. Photo// Dramadri Federick

By Dramadri Federick

Consumers in Arua City are expressing concern over the sharp increase in cassava flour prices, with a kilogram currently selling between 2,000 and 2,400 Uganda shillings in most markets across the city, compared to between 1,000 and 1,200 shillings just two weeks before November.

The nearly doubled prices are putting additional pressure on household budgets, forcing some consumers to reduce their purchases or switch to alternative foodstuffs that they consider more affordable.

Cassava flour, which is widely consumed by households across the West Nile sub-region, is traditionally used to prepare foods local meals. However, the latest price increases are making it increasingly difficult for some families to maintain their usual food consumption patterns.

Traders and millers attribute the sudden increase to a shortage of cassava supplies within the West Nile region, high exchange rates and rising fuel costs, which have increased the cost of sourcing and transporting the commodity from other parts of the country.

Samuel Andama, a cassava flour miller and seller in Arua City, says the supply of cassava from traditional sources, particularly Vurra and Terego districts, has significantly declined, leaving traders struggling to obtain sufficient quantities to sustain their businesses.

Andama explains that they previously depended on farmers and suppliers from these areas, but the declining availability of cassava has forced them to look beyond the region for alternative sources.

He says traders are now sourcing cassava from Jinja and districts bordering Kenya, a development that has increased transportation and procurement costs.

According to Andama, the shortage has become so severe that even orders placed with suppliers outside West Nile are sometimes not fulfilled.

“The people who are bringing cassava for grinding, the turnout is very low. Even I am worried; I don’t know what people are eating. Even the cassava I get from Jinja is also scarce. Recently, I placed an order for purchase, but they could not find it for me. The wholesale price per kilogram is now 1,700 shillings, and you must order a good number of bags before they can supply you,” Andama explains.

He says the high wholesale prices, coupled with transportation expenses and fluctuations in exchange rates, leave traders with little option but to increase retail prices to remain in business.

The shortage is particularly concerning for consumers who depend on cassava flour as an affordable alternative to other staple foods.

Margret Ayikoru, a consumer who had visited Arua Main Market to purchase cassava flour, says the rising prices have forced her to reconsider her household food choices.

Ayikoru says she has increasingly turned to sorghum, which she considers a cheaper alternative, as the cost of cassava flour continues to rise beyond what her household can comfortably afford.

She appeals to traders to exercise restraint when determining prices, arguing that businesses should also consider the economic difficulties ordinary households are experiencing.

The growing concerns have also attracted the attention of government authorities, with Arua Resident City Commissioner Betty Akello Otekat urging households to embrace agricultural production as a way of strengthening food security and reducing dependence on market purchases.

Akello says the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, is mapping different regions and promoting agricultural practices that can be adapted to local conditions to address emerging food security challenges and avert possible hunger.

She encourages households, particularly those with access to land, to utilise available spaces to grow food crops rather than relying entirely on markets for their daily food requirements.

The Resident City Commissioner has also appealed to traders to avoid excessive price increases that could further disadvantage consumers already struggling with the rising cost of living.

“Let the traders not hike the prices so much to the extent that consumers fail to afford cassava flour. The difference between the previous price of 1,300 shillings per kilogram and the current 2,400 shillings is too much. The business community should try to be fair to consumers because, looking at the economy, things are hard. Even some people cannot afford to get two meals a day in this town,” Akello urges.

Her remarks highlight the wider challenge of balancing the interests of traders facing increased procurement costs and consumers whose purchasing power continues to be affected by rising food prices.

The concerns in Arua City come amid broader increases in food prices across the country, with cassava flour among the commodities registering significant price changes.

According to national inflation reporting by the Bank of Uganda, cassava flour prices registered an estimated 37 per cent year-on-year increase in October 2026, reflecting the growing cost of essential food commodities.

The rising prices have renewed questions about the stability of food supply chains, the vulnerability of households that depend on locally produced staples and the need to strengthen agricultural production in food-producing communities.

As traders struggle to secure supplies and households adjust their food budgets, the situation raises questions about the need for increased local cassava production, improved supply chains and measures to cushion consumers against sudden food price shocks.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis