Editor,Allow me to comment on a story regarding the planned introduction of milk vending machines, in Rwanda, by Inyange Industries. I must say this is a very a welcome development. Milk from the region is flooding our market, at cheaper prices, largely because their costs of production are minimal. For instance, a liter of tetra-parked UHT milk in Uganda is almost 40 per cent cheaper than Inyange’s milk. Yet under the EAC integration spirit, we need to keep opening up our market to products from other partner states. This means that any ‘protectionism’ would be anti-integration.Nonetheless, the more the competitors (to our own companies) join the local market, the tighter it gets for our companies. In the end, local industries will lose out to regional competitors.To remain afloat in the wake of this increasing competition, therefore, Inyange and other local milk processing firms will need to ensure that their products (UHT, fresh and flavoured products) are more affordable as well. James MunanuraMakerere University
