By Ivan Ssali
On Monday this week, Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) announced a 12% growth in 2023.
UBL Managing Director Andrew Kilonzo did not give details beyond announcing the growth.
However, the growth was attributed to the good performance of beer. Guinness, Tusker Lite, Bell, and Pilsner (in that order) topped UBL sales in 2023.
In the same year, UBL paid over Shs 450 million in taxes to the government of Uganda.
The UBL, however, is concerned about informal, illicit, and unregulated alcohol.
According to UBL, informal and unregulated alcohol account for 65% of the of the alcohol on the market.
Kilonzo says that because of informally and non-regulation, the government loses about Shs 1.7 trillion in taxes.
The UBL now wants a leveled playing field by a way of proper or 100% regulation.
