Nairobi: Milk supply in Nyeri is on the decline as farmers struggle with high cost of dairy feeds coupled with a prolonged cold and dry weather condition.
According to Kenya News Agency, a survey at milk delivery outlets in Nyeri town and its environs has laid bare the situation on the ground with some dairies being forced to reduce the number of their clients to cope with the drop. Mr. Jackson Maina, Operations Manager at Meskins Dairy near Gatitu trading center, said they have been forced to cut down on the amount of milk supplied to clients due to the biting shortage. Maina noted that the firm is currently collecting 6,000 liters of milk daily, a significant reduction from the 10,000 liters managed earlier this year.
Maina explained, “The situation is not good in terms of the amount of milk we are receiving from our suppliers on a daily basis. From January this year, we used to collect up to 10,000 liters of fresh milk on a normal working day. But beginning June this year, deliveries started dropping drastically. Today, we are only receiving 6,000 liters daily, which is far below the daily demand of our clients.” He expressed hope that the anticipated El Nino rains next month could improve the weather, allowing pasture regeneration and easing farmers’ dependence on costly commercial dairy feeds. He warned that the future of the dairy sector was at stake unless conditions improved.
Robert Wambugu, Manager at the Senior Nyeri Dairy, reported a drop in milk delivery at the plant from 30,000 liters early this year to 25,000 in September. Wambugu stated that the decline has forced the facility to lay off some staff until the situation improves. He attributed the decrease in milk production to the shortage of animal pasture and the high cost of commercial feeds, which he said was unaffordable for many farmers.
Meanwhile, leading supermarket outlets in Nyeri town are also grappling with milk shortages, with some popular milk brands missing from retail shelves. Mr. Samuel Kasyoki, a manager at Magunas Supermarket, said consumers were feeling the shortage at all points of sale. Kasyoki linked the drop in milk supply to the difficult economic times farmers faced due to increased animal feed costs. He noted that some milk brands like Royal, Kinangop, Naru, and Mount Kenya had increased prices from about 58 shillings to approximately 62 shillings, while only KCC and Brookside brands retained their original price at Sh 65.
Jacqueline Maigua, an employee at Chieni Supermarket, remarked that the shortage had necessitated an increase in the cost of a 500-milliliter packet of milk. Maigua stated that although some milk brands were still available, others were missing from shelves in large quantities. She noted that the increase was temporary and expected prices to stabilize once supply improved.
Kenya’s milk demand stands at 8 billion liters annually against a production of 5.76 billion liters, according to the Kenya Dairy Board. This year, milk production in the country fell by 3.7 percent from 844 million liters in June to 81.3 million liters in July, prompting a price increase of Sh15 for a 500-milliliter packet. The Board has attributed the decline to the prevailing cold and dry weather coupled with high costs in dairy feeds.
