The Kenya Dairy Board has warned traders against dealing in illegal powdered milk which is taking up the local market pushing farmers to losses.
Speaking in Korakora division in Garissa on Friday during an inspection tour of a local milk processing plant, the Kenya Diary Board chairperson Genesio Mugo said currently, there is no permit issued to import powdered milk into the country.
The government begun a crackdown last month that has so far seen several suspects arrested in Eastleigh and illegal goods recovered.
“I want to state clearly that there is no permit to import powdered milk into the country. This is because we want to create a market for our local milk from camels, cows and goats. The illegal milk is taking away our local market,” Mugo said.
“We want Kenyans to consume our milk not from other countries. We have powdered milk from our local companies like the KCC and more investors are coming to set up powdered milk plants to fill the gaps we may have,” he added.
Mugo said with the recent rains, the country has a capacity to produce enough milk for local consumption sufficiently.
The board’s managing director Margaret Kibogy said currently, they are focusing on the non-traditional milk producing counties like Garissa and have already done trainings for farmers and other stakeholders to increase the diary farming knowledge.
“Milk consumption in this area is very high and we have decided to expand our footprint here by setting up offices so that we can enhance our services and get closer to our stakeholders,” Kibogy said.
On the illegal powder milk, the MD said they are working with a multi agency team to crack down on illegal products and ensure local farmers and consumers are protected.
“We want to welcome all our traders and other stakeholders to be compliant with the regulations and laws so that we can protect our farmers and our consumers because we don’t even know how safe the illegal milk is for human consumption,” she said.
