Who Buys Eucalyptus Poles in Uganda?
Updated 3 November 2026 · Land & Property editorial team
Eucalyptus is bought by pole treatment plants, builders and fencing traders in markets around Kampala, tea factories for firewood, and mills. Electricity utilities need treated poles meeting a standard, so they buy from treatment plants and tenders, not from woodlot owners. The public evidence on buyer volumes is thin, and we list only buyers we have confirmed.
- Largest named pole plant output (company-stated)
- 110,000 creosote and 55,000 CCA poles a year at Kakonge, Nakasongola
- East African standard for utility poles
- EAS 322:2002; seasoned to 28% average moisture, then pressure treated
- Moisture limit before treatment
- 28% batch average, 30% for any single pole (EAS 322:2002, clause 9)
- Concrete pole pilot
- REA, announced 2019, in eastern, north-eastern and northern Uganda
Who buys eucalyptus trees and poles in Uganda?
Five groups of buyers appear in the public record. The table shows what each wants and what evidence we have. It is a map of demand, not a price list; for prices see eucalyptus pole prices.
| Buyer | What they want | What we verified |
|---|---|---|
| Pole treatment plants | Straight, seasoned poles that meet a standard, in set lengths | Nile Plywoods says its Kakonge plant in Nakasongola treats 110,000 creosote and 55,000 CCA poles a year (company website) |
| Electricity utilities and agencies | Treated poles from a plant, not raw trees | REA piloted concrete poles from 2019 (Daily Monitor); the East African standard for such poles is EAS 322:2002 |
| Builders and fencing traders | Building and fencing poles, cut and sold in city markets | A 2025 Makerere thesis surveyed eucalyptus markets at Bwaise, Nateete and Nsangi |
| Tea factories | Firewood for driers and boilers | A 2002 country energy report says Rwenzori Highlands Tea Company grew eucalyptus as fuel wood for its tea estates |
| Sawmills and board mills | Logs for sawing or boards | ForestSource lists Esther Mahogany Timber, Busoga Forestry, Nile Plywoods and Global Woods as sawmills; it does not say what each buys |
Do UEDCL and other utilities buy poles from farmers directly?
We found no public notice of a utility buying poles from individual growers. The structure of the standard explains why. EAS 322:2002, the East African standard for wood poles for power and telecommunication lines, says poles must not be preserved until the average moisture content of each batch is down to 28 percent, with no single pole above 30 percent. Eucalyptus poles are then pressure impregnated with creosote (at least 115 kg per cubic metre) or copper-chromium-arsenic mixture (at least 14 kg per cubic metre). A woodlot owner cannot do that on the farm, so the buyer in the middle is a treatment plant. Our explainer on Utility Poles and EAS 322: Specs Explained sets out the specification.
The utility, the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company (UEDCL), took over electricity distribution from Umeme in 2025, when Umeme's concession ended. We could not open the UEDCL annual report for FY2024/25, so we do not quote its pole-plant volumes or sales, and we do not say how its suppliers are chosen. If you grow poles, ask the plant or the tender holder, in writing, what size, species, moisture and delivery terms they accept.
What did the REA concrete pole pilot change?
The Daily Monitor reported on 25 July 2019, in a story updated in September 2020, that the Rural Electrification Agency had begun replacing wooden poles with concrete ones, starting with pilots in eastern, north-eastern and northern Uganda. The article gave the reasons as repeated failures of wooden poles, losses to wildfire and floods along the Soroti-Moroto road, and immature trees being cut. An REA official is quoted saying concrete poles last a minimum of 40 years while wooden poles start rotting in less than 10 years. The same article quotes the chairperson of Umeme saying it also planned to move away from wood, and a tree grower in Bukedea District warning the shift could put growers out of business. It gives no pole numbers or costs.
Failure evidence also exists on the wood side. A 2022 Makerere undergraduate thesis sampled 231 treated wooden poles that failed early in service in Uganda and found an average service life of about 10 years, with fungal decay and termites as the main causes. Neither source says wooden poles are finished, but both show that buyers care about preservative quality, not only tree size. Growers who deliver well-seasoned, straight poles to a plant that treats them properly are less exposed to that risk.
Is firewood for tea factories a real market?
It has been, but the numbers we can verify are old. A January 2002 country status report on biomass fuel (published through the UK government) describes the Rwenzori Highlands Tea Company, with six estates, and says three of its estates planted 465.6 ha of eucalyptus as fuel wood on a 6 to 8 year rotation. It reports that over-mature eucalyptus fuel wood produced 480 kg of made tea per cubic metre, against 320 kg from 6-year-old wood, and that efficient wood-fired steam boilers at two estates cut fuel wood use by 31 to 54 percent. That cut matters to a seller: a factory that burns less wood per kilo of tea needs fewer trees.
We found no current tea factory price or contract term for eucalyptus in Uganda, so we do not publish one. A 2025 Makerere undergraduate thesis on Wakiso and Kampala markets found construction poles generally more profitable than firewood, so a woodlot cut early for fuel may earn less per tree than one grown on for poles; see Eucalyptus Pole Yield Calculator to test your own numbers.
Which pole buyers will Land & Property list?
We plan a short list of timber and pole buyers, and our inclusion rule is simple: a buyer appears only after we have confirmed with them directly what they buy, in which district, and on what terms, and we will say when we last confirmed it. A name in a business directory is not enough. ForestSource, for example, lists Ugandan sawmills by name and town but states nothing on what they buy. We will not list a buyer because a promoter or an agent tells us it exists.
This also protects sellers from a common trap: "buyers" who ask for a fee first. A real buyer pays for trees, not for an introduction. Read Tree Plantation Investment Scams to Avoid before paying anyone.
How should a woodlot owner approach buyers?
- Count your trees and measure diameters first. Buyers pay by grade, and they will discount an uncounted stand.
- Decide what the stand is for. Poles for treatment need seasoning time and straightness; firewood does not.
- Ask each buyer for specification, delivery point, payment date and who cuts and hauls.
- Get at least two offers in writing before you agree to a price per tree or per acre.
On Land & Property, a forest listing sells the trees only. The land is not included, and the harvesting deadline is negotiable with the seller, which suits a seller who wants buyers to compete for a stand. You can list your trees for sale, land not included, or browse forest and tree listings to see how others describe theirs. If you are buying, eucalyptus trees for sale explains the grades, and our Standing trees for sale page covers the full process. As of our 3 November 2026 snapshot, no forest listings are published yet (Land & Property listings, Nov 2026).
Frequently asked questions
Who buys eucalyptus poles?
Pole treatment plants buy seasoned, straight poles for power and telecom lines. City traders buy building and fencing poles in markets such as Bwaise, Nateete and Nsangi. Tea factories and others buy eucalyptus as firewood. Sawmills and board mills buy logs. Always confirm specification and payment terms in writing before you cut.
Does UEDCL buy from farmers?
We found no public notice of UEDCL or any utility buying poles from individual growers. The East African standard for utility poles, EAS 322, requires drying and pressure treatment at a plant, so growers normally sell through treatment plants or other suppliers to the utility. Ask the plant for its written specification.
Are concrete poles replacing wooden poles?
Partly, in pilots. The Rural Electrification Agency began a concrete pole pilot in eastern, north-eastern and northern Uganda, reported in 2019. The article gave no numbers. Wooden poles still meet the EAS 322 standard, but demand from utilities may fall where concrete is adopted. We found no figures.
Do tea factories buy eucalyptus?
A 2002 government energy report says Rwenzori Highlands Tea Company grew eucalyptus as fuel wood on three estates. We found no current price or contract term. One 2025 student study found poles more profitable than firewood, so check what poles would earn before selling a stand for fuel.
Can I trust a buyer who asks for a fee first?
No. A genuine buyer pays you for trees and does not charge for an introduction or a viewing. Ask for the buyer's past purchases, speak to the plant or mill yourself, and read our page on tree investment scams before paying anyone.
Sources
- Forestry and wood manufacturing (Nile Plywoods, Kakonge pole treatment plant), Sarrai Group (accessed 2026-11)
- EAS 322:2002 Wood poles and blocks for power and telecommunication lines - Specification, East African Community / law.resource.org (accessed 2026-11)
- Power agency turns to use of concrete poles, Daily Monitor (accessed 2026-11)
- Assessment of premature failure of treated wooden utility poles in service in Uganda, Makerere University dissertations repository (accessed 2026-11)
- A comparative financial analysis of selling eucalyptus as construction poles or firewood in Wakiso and Kampala, Makerere University dissertations repository (accessed 2026-11)
- Fuel substitution - poverty impacts on biomass fuel supplies: Uganda country status (January 2002), UK government publishing assets (accessed 2026-11)
- Sawmills in Uganda (directory listing), ForestSource (accessed 2026-11)