As reported by Uganda’s New Vision on May 14, the Ministry of Finance of Uganda recently released a report analyzing the country’s imported commodity categories. In 2019, Uganda imported goods worth approximately USD 6.8 billion, with at least USD 88 million spent on beauty products including essential oils, perfumes, cosmetics and other toiletries.
Breakdown of spending within this category is as follows:
- USD 15 million for blended aromatic raw materials, accounting for the largest proportion;
- USD 14 million for oral hygiene products, ranking second;
- USD 12 million for beauty cosmetics, skincare and manicure products;
- USD 3 million for shaving supplies and personal deodorants;
- USD 3 million for hair care preparations and essential oils.
The report notes that Uganda is a net importer, with most of its imports sourced from Asia and the Middle East, notably China, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. While local production of cosmetics and related beauty items has expanded in recent years, most consumers still opt for imported products due to quality gaps and insufficient domestic production capacity.
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred urgent calls to boost local manufacturing capacity to advance import substitution policies. Nevertheless, the Uganda Consumer Education Foundation pointed out that high operating costs make it difficult to sustain import substitution efforts. For instance, a Chinese manufacturer with an annual output of 2 million pieces of perfume, lipstick and lotion can sell its products at far lower prices than a local producer whose yearly output stands at only 200,000 pieces.