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The price of digital conformity marks for beauty and personal care products have increased by more than 20,000 percent for large manufacturers, according to Beauty and Personal Care Sector of Uganda Manufacturers Association.

The sector also indicate that charges for medium manufacturers have risen by more than 400 percent, while those for small manufacturers have risen by between 50 and 80 percent.

Mr Robert Kitenda, the Beauty and Personal Care Sector of Uganda Manufacturers Association chairman, said in an interview that since May, cosmetics manufacturers have recorded a massive increase in the price of conformity marks from an average of Shs3.5m to more than Shs200m.

“And mark you, this is only for a single product. So, manufacturers with many products have seen their costs go through the roof. We have a serious challenge. We have engaged UNBS ever since they changed the system and explained to them our dilemma but they seem not to care,” he said.

Mr Kitenda indicated that previously, they had been paying an average of Shs3.5 for a single product to obtain a conformity mark, but now they have to pay Shs21 per digital mark for every product unit, which has seen manufacturers with large volumes pay as high as Shs200m for a single product.

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