This archive report was first published on 7 August 2019.
On August 7, 2019, Kenya's milk market was hit by a glut, prompting top milk processors to cut producer prices.
Brookside and New KCC, the country's leading milk processors, announced that they would pay farmers between Sh27 and Sh31 per litre, depending on the volumes supplied.
According to the companies' pricing structures, Brookside would pay Sh27 per litre for farmers supplying between 1 and 100 litres, Sh28 for between 1,001 and 2,500 litres, and Sh31 for 5,001 litres and above.
Meanwhile, New KCC would pay between Sh27 and Sh30 a litre.
The price cut is a result of the improved fodder production following the rains that started in May, which ended a long drought that began in October 2018.
However, the Kenya Dairy Farmers Federation has criticized the cut, citing conflicting information on the current production levels.
Chairman Stanley Ng'ombe argued that production is still low and that farmers are grappling with high costs, making the price cut unjustified.
“We are now at the mercy of the processors. We do not understand why processors had to cut the producer price when our co-operatives are operating below installed capacities,” said Mr Ng'ombe.
On the other hand, Director of Livestock Julius Kiptarus attributed the price cut to the increase in production, stating that Brookside and New KCC might have based their decision on this.
