Travelers carrying unprocessed foods through Entebbe International Airport will be required to acquire phytosanitary certificates, according to new directives by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).
Phytosanitary relates to measures for the control of plant diseases, especially in agricultural crops.
The new directive applies to unprocessed agricultural imports and exports for personal cargo.
Many Ugandan passengers have been freely exporting food stuffs as passenger cargo, with no standards being enforced.
The statement followed public uproar after ministry officials confiscated food from travelers last week.
Stephen Byantwale, the director of Crop Resources, said small quantities of the foodstuffs will be inspected at the airport on the day of travel by a resident inspector from the ministry.
Byantwale said the only fee involved is about Shs5,000 for the issuance of the certificate.
According to Byantwale, this is meant to ensure that foodstuffs going out and coming into the country meet international standards.
All this follows an incident where Ugandans were recorded on video vending grasshoppers on Uganda airlines.
Police identified them as Paul Mubiru, 27, and 25-year old Hajib Kigundu and they have since been charged with being a public nuisance.
