President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has pledged the government’s commitment to expand the capacity of the Soroti Fruit Factory in the Teso sub region.
The president’s statement stemmed from a complaint raised by the local leaders in the region regarding the under consumption of fruits produced by the current fruit factory in the area.
President Museveni promises that the capacity of the Soroti fruit plant will be increased to accommodate the area’s fast fruit production expansion.
The Minister of State for Teso Affairs, Kenneth Ongalo Obote, briefed the President about how a large variety of fruits is left to waste due to inadequate consumption by the fruit factory.
On Thursday, September 21st, 2023, while commissioning another cement factory in Tororo, President Museveni assured farmers that the government will, in the near future, ensure more factories are established in a bid to offer a market for their fruits.
“Some residents in Teso had begun to expand with farming; people had begun citrus farming, and those are the types of enterprises that we require, so I am returning to discuss this in depth so that many factories are built,” Museveni stated.
He stated that new factories will be created because there are so many farmers active in fruit cultivation and just one small facility cannot fit all of Teso Land’s production.
On April 13, 2019, President Museveni inaugurated commercial production at the completed factory. At the beginning, 150 employees were hired, with the expectation of increasing to 250 when the factory runs at maximum capacity.
In October 2019, the factory began producing mango juice under the label “Teju”, short for “Teso Juice”.
The construction of the factory began in April 2015 and was scheduled to be completed in May 2016.
