Milk prices have stabilised at Sh37, says Munya

Milk prices have stabilised, with a litre going for an average of Sh37, Agriculture CS Peter Munya has said. 

Munya said the dairy sector has been doing well following the government’s interventions to stabilise the prices.

He said the average price of a litre of milk from the processors is Sh37, while the cooperatives are paying an average of Sh35. He spoke last week while briefing the media on the status of the dairy sector in the country.

“Sometimes the processors pay the cooperatives and then the cooperatives pay the farmers, hence the price disparity. But the price has stabilised where our target was at Sh34 per litre of milk,” he said.

“We announced the price of Sh34 and we said no society should pay less than Sh34. Some cooperatives like Githunguri are offering Sh35 for a litre.”

Munya said the demand for milk has picked and some processors are offering a high of Sh45 for a litre of milk.

According to the Kenya Dairy Board, the country’s annual milk production is at 5.28 billion litres, produced by 1.8 million smallholder dairy farmers.

Out of the annual production, 600 million litres is formally marketed and the sector has created 1.2 million jobs directly and indirectly.   

The CS confirmed that the dairy regulations have gone through public participation, and are now with the Attorney General. They will be gazetted then become law.

He explained that one of the key issues the regulations will address is the minimum price for milk in the country.

“Every six months, we will be doing a study and setting up a price for milk in the country. The regulations are also going to control imports which have been a big challenge for the industry,” Munya said.  

He attributed the increase in prices at the farm gate to the control of imports from the region and elsewhere.

“We have been controlling that because even our farmers in Kenya must feed themselves. As we take care of the region, we must also take care of our own farmers,” he said.

Munya said that the government devised a mechanism to control imports by putting on levies that other countries also put for Kenya.

“This is because even as we relate together there is also the principle of reciprocity where if another country has put a levy, we also put it so that there is no discrimination,” the CS said.