Milk production in the country has currently dropped by 15 per cent, Kenya Dairy has said.
Kenya Dairy Board managing director Margaret Kibogy said this is against monthly production of 74 million litres of milk.
She attributed the decrease to the poor rains experienced in the October-November-December short rains season and the current drought being experienced in more than 23 counties.
"Our dairy sector depends on the October-December short rains which sustains the sector during the dry months of January to March. However, last year, there was depressed rains, hence the low production,” Kibogy said.
She spoke to the Star during an interview on the update of the milk situation in the country.
The low production has led to an increase in the price of milk with a 500ml packet of milk going up by between Sh5 to Sh10.
A spot check by the Star showed that many brands are retailing at between Sh50 to Sh55, an increase from between Sh45 to Sh50 per 500ml packet. Long-life milk is selling at Sh60 from Sh55 but it has become scarce.
However, farm gate prices of milk have increased from an average of Sh35 -Sh40 to the current price of between Sh45-Sh50 per litre. This is despite production of dairy cow reducing from about 20 litres per day to about 12 litres.
According to data from KDB, annual milk production is at 5.28 billion per litres, and milk marketed in the formal sector is at 800 million litres per year.
Kibogy however said since the new dairy regulations were introduced into the sector last year, milk sold through the formal sector has increased from 600 million litres to 800 million litres per year.
She added this is likely to hit one billion litres of milk marketed in the formal sector in the coming few years.
The MD said Kenya is among countries in Africa that consume a lot of milk going at 120 litres per person per capita while neighbouring countries like Uganda is at 60 litres per litre per capita.
Kibogy assured Kenyans the sector recovers fast and with the onset of the rains, foliage will start recovering.
But the Kenya Meteorological Department last week said rains will be poorly distributed until the end of the season in May.
Met department boss Stella Aura said April marks the peak month of the long rains season and while some areas will experience below-average rainfall, other parts of the country will receive poor rainfall both in time and space.
“The outlook for April 2022 indicates that the highlands west of the Rift Valley, Central and Southern Rift Valley, Lake Victoria Basin, highlands East of the Rift Valley including Nairobi county, and parts of the Northeast and southeastern lowlands are likely to experience near average rainfall. The rest of the country is likely to experience below-average rainfall, especially during the first half of the month and the rainfall distribution in these areas is likely to be poor both in time and space,” she said.
-Edited by SKanyara
